Pokémon Sun & Moon: Alolan Adventure!
by Damon Wolf Cub
Summary: The Pride of Pallet Town, the Silver-Haired Enigma, and that Unova kid Ash met in Sinnoh have met up in Alola and decided to join the Pokémon School in an odd sort of vacation. Between daily hijinks, taking the Island Challenge, and saving the world as usual, two extra friends can make a surprisingly big difference given time.
1. Alola, Adventure!

**I LIIIIIIIVE! ...AGAIN!**

**BEHOOOOOOOLD!**

**A _THING!_**

**This collab is part of a series of stories, however, due to the nature of the Pokemon anime, it is not necessary to read chronologically earlier stories. (Which is fortunate, as most haven't been written yet and none of them are finished) While you lose a bit of context as to who the OCs are and how they know Ash, let alone each other, this story and the characters can and should be fully enjoyable without that.**

**For those who still need/desire context, author Sai Kunai Blade's stories, Ash vs Sai and The Team-Up, are a good introduction to Sai's character (and Shane, in the case of The Team-Up). Warning, there is somewhat gratuitous profanity from Sai in both stories, mostly in the first chapter of Ash vs Sai and much more mild swearing in The Team-Up, but the other characters are true to the show and there's nothing worse than what the show usually gives in terms of violence. In terms of the character Shane, the existing chapters of Black & White Master Quest will introduce him well enough for now. Note, Ash vs Sai and The Team-Up are not the same continuity as this story and Black & White Master Quest, though similar events will have happened in this continuity.**

**Very special thanks to author Sai Kunai Blade for collaborating with me and allowing use of the character Sai Blade. Seriously, if it wasn't for him this story probably wouldn't exist, and it quite literally wouldn't be half as good or have come half as quickly without him seeing as he wrote around 50% of the chapter and will likely write around that much of later ones too. He's a good author who focuses on action and comedy, so do both of us a favor and check out his stories too if you haven't already.**

* * *

It was a beautiful, sunny day on Melemele Island, where the pride of Pallet Town and future Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum...was on vacation, thanks to his mother's rather lucky Mr. Mime.

While Professor Oak had requested that Ash and Delia deliver an egg to his cousin, there was no true rush, and Ash had, so far, had a blast in the Alola region. After roaming around the Alolan sea on a Sharpedo and enjoying a brief Tauros taxi ride, the Ketchum family had stopped for a brief look at the marketplace, and Ash, naturally, got distracted by an Alolan Pokémon he'd never seen before.

Ash was now running after the Pokémon, having leaned a bit too close and gotten his nose pinched. He chased it all the way into the forest, where, unbeknownst to him, a mysterious blue-eyed being was watching. The Pokémon Ash was chasing briefly breached out of the ground, and Ash dove for it, but missed. It dug back into the ground and Ash crouched over the hole, furiously digging after it, but he was interrupted by a berry randomly bouncing off his head. As he looked up in confusion, Pikachu took an interest in the random berry, grabbing it and hopping on his Trainer's shoulder as Ash stood back up, looking around as he suddenly realized he was in the middle of a forest.

Before Ash could wander or ponder, he was distracted by a pair of familiar-sounding, intense voices, and decided to follow them as Pikachu munched on the berry from nowhere. The two eventually arrived at a clearing, and Ash found the source of the voices.

It was two of his strongest friends and rivals, Shane and Sai. The two Unovans had briefly traveled together through Kalos, but quickly went their separate ways, due to Sai's... lack of concern for others, to put it mildly. But now here they were again, facing off in a Pokémon battle.

Shane had a Pikachu that wore a red headband with a small star in the center of its forehead.

Sai's answer was a light brown quadrupedal wolf-like Pokémon with a white underbelly that extends up around its muzzle and eyes in a mask-like marking. It had pointed ears with dark brown tips and pink insides, big blue eyes, and a triangular, dark brown nose. There were four sharp fangs in its mouth: two in the upper jaw and two in the lower. Large tufts of brown fur extended from the sides of its head; three tufts on each side. A bushy, white mane covered its neck. Four dark brown rocks poke out of its mane, creating a shape similar to a stylized sun. The lower portions of this form's legs were white, and each paw had three dark brown claws. It also had a long, fluffy white tail.

The two Pokémon had clashed between their Trainers, the Pikachu's glowing tail pushing against the forehead of its foe, who was covered in a white aura. After a moment of struggle, there was an explosion that sent the two Pokémon skidding back several feet each. As the glow faded from each Pokémon, Ash could see the heart shape in the Pikachu's tail, indicating it was female.

Neither Shane, Sai, nor their Pokémon noticed Ash and his own Pikachu watching their battle as the Trainers gave their next commands.

"Sparkle, use Thunderbolt!" Shane called.

"Pika...Chuuu!" The electric mouse responded, jumping up to launch the move.

"Lycanroc! Dig, now!" Sai ordered.

"Lycan!" Sai's Pokémon- apparently called Lycanroc- confirmed, tunneling below the ground, avoiding the lightning bolt. Sparkle landed and looked around in confusion for a moment, before Lycanroc burst from the ground and slammed into it, knocking it back to Shane's feet as the Wolf Pokemon leapt back to Sai.

"Whoa! This is getting intense!" Ash said excitedly.

"Pi!" Pikachu agreed, equally excited.

"Hope you've got some tricks up your sleeves, Shane, or this might be over." Sai taunted.

As Sparkle stood back up and took her stance, Shane grinned. "Alright, time for our special move! Sparkle, use Surf!"

"Chu!" Sparkle confirmed, her eyes briefly glowing blue. Suddenly, a large wave of water burst from the ground, the electric mouse riding it with a seasoned surfer's elegance, before the water crashed down upon Lycanroc.

"Lycan!" The Wolf Pokémon cried out as it was hit by the wave and washed back to Sai's feet.

"No way!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika?!" Pikachu yelled in disbelief.

Sai knelt down beside his Pokémon in concern. "Lycanroc! Are you okay?!" He asked worriedly.

"How's that for a trick?" Shane asked, putting a hand on his hip with a smirk. "Normally, it's impossible to teach Surf to a Pikachu. But I recently conquered the Pokétopia Colosseum Challenge, and for it, I got a special prize. The Pokétopia Master personally taught my little Sparkle here how to use Surf!" The teen held his other hand out, flashing a peace sign. "Fun little surprise, huh?"

"Pika!" Sparkle confidently confirmed, imitating her Trainer's pose.

"Ly... Can..." Sai's Pokémon whimpered, struggling to continue, but amazingly it got back to its feet and stood to fight again. "Roc!" It barked.

"Amazing! I knew I could count on you!" Sai laughed happily, standing up and looking at Shane. "Not bad at all, Shane. You nearly had me there. I wasn't planning on using this, but I think you earned it." He said, looking to Lycanroc. "Ready, buddy?" He asked.

"Roc!" It confirmed.

"What are they planning?" Ash wondered.

"Pi..." Pikachu could only wonder as well.

Sai then raised his right arm, which had a strange bracelet containing a small brown gem with a Rock-type symbol in it, then crossed his arms over his chest as the gem began to glow. "Behold our bond. Together, me and my Pokémon are as strong as a rock!" Sai chanted, moving his arms in a circular motion before holding them out in front, his left arm crossed over his right as he began to glow too. "Our strength combined will overcome any obstacle!" He announced, straightening his legs as he flexed his biceps while energy seemed to flow from him into Lycranroc. "And crush any foe!" He continued, turning and bending his right knee while stretching his left leg behind him, balancing on his toes and flexing again as Lycanroc jumped into the air. "CONTINENTAL CRUSH!" Sai bellowed.

"LYCAN!" Lycanroc howled as it summoned multiple rocks from the ground, forming a huge boulder under its paws. It then hurled the boulder at Sparkle, who, along with Shane, where looking on, panicked, waving their arms frantically before it landed, squashing the Pikachu.

"Sparkle!" Shane shouted as the boulder exploded, knocking his Pokémon back towards him. Sparkle crashed into Shane's chest, her Trainer barely catching her without falling over himself. Turning her over, Shane found that her eyes were swirls. She was knocked out. "I'm sorry, Sparkle..."

"Pika..." the electric mouse replied sadly.

"WHOA!" Ash exclaimed in shock.

"PIKA!" Pikachu cried out, dropping the remains of his berry.

"Oh, yeah! We won!" Sai shouted happily as Lycanroc howled in victory, running back to its Trainer for some well deserved affection and Pokébeans. "You did great out there, buddy. Return." Sai told the Wolf Pokémon, withdrawing it and walking up to Shane, holding his hand out respectfully. "You and Sparkle did great out there, too, Shane. I definitely wasn't expecting to have to use a Z-Move in this match."

Shane fed his Pikachu a PokéPuff and scratched her chin. "Great job, Sparkle. Return." The teen withdrew his defeated battler, turned to Sai, and accepted the handshake. "Still as strong as ever, Sai. I really thought we had you when I broke out Surf."

"That was AWESOME!" Ash suddenly interrupted, startling the pair. Ash was in front of Shane in an instant, trembling with excitement. "Shane! I can't believe your Pikachu knows Surf! You've gotta teach us sometime, please!" Both Pokémon and Trainer held identical pleading expressions.

"...Um...hi, Ash." Shane replied awkwardly, before the youngest of the three Trainers suddenly rounded on the oldest.

"And Sai! What was that Pokémon you used?! It's gotta be from around here, right?! And that move! That was so awesome! I've never seen anything like it!"

While Ash assaulted Sai with questions and exclamations, Pikachu and his pleading expression remained locked upon Shane, unwavering.

Shane proceeded to scratch the electric mouse behind his ears and under his chin, ignoring what he knew Pikachu actually wanted. None present noticed Ash's enigmatic stalker nearby, dropping another berry on the single most dangerous creature in the Pokémon world.

"Oh... Hey, Ash... Wasn't expecting to see you here." Sai said, before recovering. "Well, the Pokémon I used is called Lycanroc. This one is the Midday Form. They have either this or another form called Midnight form, which looks more like a werewolf. As for the move I used..." Sai started, before they heard rustling from a nearby bush and a Pokémon emerged.

It was a black and pink Pokémon resembling a bear. Its legs and the front of its body are black, while its head, back, and tail are pink. Across the top of its head is a white band with two tufts of fur on each end. This white marking gives it the appearance of wearing a headband with decorative bear ears. It has a short, white muzzle with a triangular black nose. There are pink paw pads on its front paw, and white digital pads on its hind. It has a short tail with dark pink rings.

"Oh, wow! Look at that!" Ash said excitedly.

"That's a Bewear!" Sai warned cautiously.

"Is that a problem?" Shane asked.

"I caught it's pre-evolved form, Stufful. It evolved into Bewear and hugged me... I woke up in the hospital later after someone yelled 'Clear!'" The older trainer explained, a shocked and horrified look washing over Shane's face.

The Bewear then waved its arms towards the trainers and Pikachu. "Look, it's waving!" Ash said, waving and walking closer.

"Ash, no!" Sai and Shane yelled out together, but to no avail.

"You sure are cute!" Ash said, before Bewear's waving arm easily snapped a nearby tree in half like a twig, Ash's face distorting to one of fear as Bewear spun and kicked down three more trees. "Now what?!" Ash asked, before the Bewear cried out, causing Ash and Pikachu to turn and run.

"Well, that's not good. One of you guys better be ready to battle." Sai told his Poké Balls, looking through them for the Pokémon he wanted.

"Let's go! Altius, Reso!" Shane called, throwing a Quick Ball that released a Pidgeot and a Poké Ball that released a Lucario. Both wore Mega Stones, with the Pidgeot's hanging from a necklace and the Lucario's worn like a belt around its torso. "Altius, go after Ash. If he gets in trouble before leaving the forest, help him out. If not, come back and be ready to battle." He directed, pointing where Ash and Pikachu ran off.

"Pidgeot!" The bird Pokémon confirmed, flying off.

"Reso, use Aura Sphere!" Shane commanded, turning his attention to Bewear.

The Lucario nodded, launching the attack. Upon collision, the move exploded, obscuring Bewear in a dust cloud.

"Sai, you know this Pokémon. What type is it, and what moves do you remember it having?"

"Salazzle, go!" Sai ordered, releasing a white Pokémon resembling a salamander or lizard. Its thin body had a purple underside with several wavy, dark pink markings: a U-shaped marking with two additional lines inside on its chest and one on each hip resembling wisps of smoke. The white on its head and neck extended slightly onto its chest in a V-shape. It had a slender head with purple, almond-shaped eyes with slit pupils and two fang-like projections on each side of its lower jaw. There were two thin, wavy growths on its back at the base of its tail, which was whip-like with a dark pink underside. Its hands and feet each had five long, thin digits.

"Salaz!" It announced as its body briefly sparkled.

"Bewear's a Normal/Fighting Type. We should watch out for its Thrash, Double-Edge, Hammer Arm and Superpower." Sai informed.

"Normal and Fighting? Could be dangerous for Reso, but it sounds like a close-range battler." Shane noted. Just then, with surprising speed, Bewear ran out of the dust, throwing a punch Reso barely dodged. "Use Power-Up Punch!"

The Lucario growled as his paws were engulfed in a red-orange aura, then launched a quick three-punch combo that got the Bewear to back off slightly before Reso jumped back in front of Shane.

"Salazzle, use Toxic!" Sai ordered.

"Sala!" It confirmed, firing a thick stream of purple liquid from its mouth. It landed a direct hit on Bewear, causing its face to gain a sickly purple tint.

"Now's my chance! Go, Poké Ball!" Shane called, throwing the red and white sphere. It bounced off the poisoned Pokémon, pulling it in, and fell to the ground.

"You want to catch it?" Sai asked as the ball shook.

"If you don't mind."

"Already have one." Sai shrugged. Before the conversation could continue, Bewear popped back out of the ball. "Venoshock, now!"

"Reso, use Copycat!"

Sai's Salazzle launched a dark purple ball of liquid poison from its mouth, with Shane's Lucario imitating the move a moment later. Both hit their mark, but a second later, Bewear closed in on Reso and, with one kick, knocked him into a tree. As the aura jackal landed on his rear, the tree he hit snapped and fell to the side.

"Reso!" Shane yelled in concern. Rushing over, he found the Lucario had spiral eyes. Reso had fainted, likely on impact. _'Just one hit and he went down?! It didn't even use a move!'_ Shane analyzed despite his growing terror. Quickly, he recalled the unconscious canine and searched through his Poke Balls for someone to try surviving Bewear. _'Doesn't even look like it's poisoned anymore, and if it is, it's clearly not doing much...'_

"That strength is staggering. My Bewear is strong, but this one feels like it's one a whole other level! Maybe even as strong as a legendary." Sai voiced in disbelief, before looking determined. "Well that's fine. That just means it's time for us to give it our all! One thing we never do is back down from a challenge!" He said fiercely.

"Salaz!" Salazzle hissed with equal ferocity.

"It's time..." Sai spoke seriously, swapping the gem in his bracelet for a dark purple one and crossing his arms again as the new gem began glowing just like before. "In a toxic world..." he chanted, going through the same motion as earlier, before imitating acid rain with his fingers instead of flexing. "Let my Poison be the Anti-Venom to cure this ailing planet and wash away all other toxins, leaving the world stronger and better." He continued, getting down on one knee and spreading his arms his hands and fingers pointed down as the glow surrounded him and transferred power to Salazzle. "Now! Acid Downpour!" He announced as Salazzle created a massive cloud of poisonous mist and a small tidal wave of venom, which washed over Bewear and completely engulfed it, obscuring it from view. Things soon returned to normal, with the Bewear face down on the ground. "Guess that did it." Sai breathed a sigh of relief, trying to stand up before the weight of using two Z-moves in less than twenty minutes took its toll on him, bringing him back to one knee.

"Salazzle!" Salazzle cried out worriedly, hurrying to his side.

"I'm okay, Salazzle. It looks like that finished things anyway." Sai told his worried Pokémon, before they all heard a noise and looked up in shock to see the Bewear getting up, definitely slowed down and weakened, but not out of the fight yet. "It can't be... Nothing should still be up after that." He said in disbelief.

"Pidgeot!" A familiar chirp suddenly caught Shane's attention just as he'd retrieved an Ultra Ball.

"Altius! Kept us waiting, huh?" He greeted the bird as it landed beside him. "Is Ash okay?" Altius nodded. "Good. Well, get ready! It's time to go all-out!" Shane stated, holding up his right arm to show his Mega Ring. The Pidgeot nodded determinedly, then turned towards the fight. The teen pressed the Key Stone with two fingers, then held it up as it and Altius' Mega Stone glowed brightly. "Witness a devastating power, born of an unbreakable bond! Full power, Mega Evolution!"

Mega rays emanated from the ring and Altius' necklace, blasting towards each other, connecting in the middle between Trainer and Pokémon and turning blue. The Pidgeot glowed with incredible power, transforming into Mega Pidgeot.

Shane quickly ran in front of Sai and Salazzle while Altius flew overhead. "This has gone on long enough! If this doesn't end it, nothing will! Altius, use Brave Bird!"

"Yeah, bring it down!" Sai shouted in support.

"Pidgeot!" Altius confirmed, surrounding himself in an orange flame-like aura as he slammed into Bewear at high speeds. Altius landed in front of his Trainer, wings folded. Orange static flickered across his form as he flinched, feeling the recoil.

Bewear, however, seemed almost entirely unfazed.

All color drained from the four as they stared in shock and horror, jaws/beak falling open. Several seconds passed before, finally...

"Run away in comedic fashion." Sai suggested.

Salazzle picked him up over her head as Shane assumed an appropriate about-to-run pose before the two dashed away at high speed, their feet resembling wheels. A moment passed before Altius looked back, audibly blinking as three dotted outlines flashed where the others were a moment ago, causing the Pidgeot to panic and take off, flapping its wings rapidly to catch up with its Trainer. Bewear made to pursue, but was stopped as something quickly flew by in front of its path. Distracted, it looked around, but found nothing, and Shane and Sai got away safely.

As the trees thinned out, Shane and Salazzle skidded to a stop, panting. Altius, however, was flying too fast and blew by them, getting his beak stuck in a wooden fence. Shane looked back at the forest and sighed in relief as it seemed they'd escaped successfully, then turned his attention to his struggling Pokémon. Shane walked over to help, but before he could anything, the still-Mega Pidgeot pulled himself out with enough force to fly back into his Trainer and even Salazzle, knocking the whole group over. The four separated in streaks of motion, but Shane fell back on his rear, and Sai took a moment to stabilize on Salazzle before standing on his own. Altius took flight for a moment, grabbing the back of Shane's shirt to lift its Trainer back to his feet before landing properly next to him.

As this happened, however, three people clearly younger than the Unovan duo approached with concerned expressions.

One was a girl with green eyes and long, platinum blonde hair with two braids on either side of her face. She wore a large white hat with a blue ribbon around it, a white dress with blue outlines, a pair of long white socks, and blue flat shoes. She also had a Pokéball-themed duffel bag.

The other girl was shorter, with short blue hair and matching blue eyes. She wore a sleeveless white shirt with a dark blue undershirt, a very short blue cape, blue pants with a light blue wave pattern on the lower legs that had a light brown string for a belt, with a strange badge hanging off of it, an odd hairband the same color as the string on her pants, and dark blue sandals. She lightly held a small blue sea lion-esque Pokémon in her arms. Said Pokémon had two small, rounded ear flaps, a long white snout with a pink, round nose and black whiskers, a light blue ruff collar that extended a little past its shoulders, and four flippers, with the two in front being larger with white markings separating its toes.

The last was a boy, easily the shortest of the three, and bit chubby. He had short, somewhat spiky orange hair and small brown eyes, and wore a white t-shirt with an orange Game Boy and Link Cable design on the front, a yellow scarf with a lightning bold or Pikachu tail hanging off on his neck, a metallic grey belt with a round buckle and a badge similar to the blue girl's on it, brown shorts with orange cuffs, and green shoes with lightning bold designs on the sides and purple soles.

"Are you all okay?" The blonde girl asked, keeping a bit of distance compared to her companions.

"We'll be fine. We both almost die every other day, so this really isn't a thing for us." Sai assured her.

"What's the rush?" The boy asked as the blue-haired girl's Pokémon jumped down to investigate Altius.

"A Legendary in a common Pokémon's clothing." Shane stated with a notable trace of fear, not noticing the little blue sea lion sniffing his Pidgeot.

"Huh?" The three chorused, exchanging confused looks.

"We ran into a Bewear that defies any and all laws of nature." Sai explained.

"Pop pop?!" the blue Pokémon suddenly exclaimed, apparently surprised.

"Pidgeot!" Altius replied cheerfully.

"Pop..."

"Altius?" Shane interrupted. "What's up?"

"Geot."

"You know them?" Shane translated, then turned back to the people as a thought struck him. "Have you met a guy a little younger than me, wearing a red hat with a Pikachu on his shoulder?"

"You mean Ash?" The boy asked. The older Trainers nodded in unison. "We ran into him a few minutes ago. Mallow's showing him around the school."

"Excellent. Do you think you could help us find them?" Shane asked.

"Are you looking to become fellow students as well?" The blonde girl asked, looking to Sai. "Forgive me if this comes across as rude, but you seem a bit too old to become a student here." She explained.

Sai's eyebrow twitched lightly in annoyance at this comment. "I'll just pretend I didn't hear that." He said.

Suddenly, however, a Master Ball on Sai's belt popped open and the Legendary Darkrai popped out of it. **"That was rather uncalled for. I don't take kindly to people insulting my trainer."** The Pokémon spoke telepathically, looming menacingly over the girl, who backed away in terror.

"Darkrai, no! It's okay! She didn't mean it!" Sai told the Pitch-Black Pokémon, frantically trying to pull it away from the girl.

Once at a safe distance, the girl's fear was soon replaced with awe as she looked at Darkrai, along with the others. "You have a Darkrai!" She exclaimed in awe.

"You're clearly seeing this, yes." Sai stated the obvious, looking at Darkrai, then her.

"I'm getting Sinnoh League flashbacks." Shane muttered. Altius turned to his trainer, a question mark flashing over his head.

"So you've captured a Legendary Pokémon!?" The boy asked in amazement, sparkles in his eyes.

"Legendaries. As in plural." Sai corrected proudly. "In fact, I don't think you could name a Pokémon that I haven't caught." He added.

"Unbelievable! You must be a trainer of the absolute highest caliber!" The boy continued to geek out.

"Well, thank you... You're not wrong, I suppose." Sai voiced his appreciation with a bit of surprise.

"So, then truly you must be a trainer of unfathomable knowledge in regards to many different Pokémon." The blonde girl stated.

"I would say my knowledge is rather extensive." He agreed.

"Then perhaps we could see about making you a teacher here! At the very least an assistant teacher!" The blonde girl suggested.

"I-I'm not sure that's a good idea!" Shane tried to reason... a bit too quietly.

"Let's do it!" The blue-haired girl said, the three of them eagerly dragging Sai along with them, not hearing Shane at all.

"H-hey wait a minute! I didn't agree to this!" Sai cried out as they dragged him away.

Shane and Altius sweatdropped as this happened. Shane quickly shook it off though. "Well, I should make sure no one does something we'll all regret." He stated as he pulled out Altius' Ball. "You should rest. You've done more than enough for today just trying to brave that crazy Bewear." He reassured as he recalled it before running off after Sai and the others.

* * *

"And after we chased after Charizard, we kinda just wound up here." Ash explained. He was seated on a green couch next to his mother in the principal's office, just across a wooden coffee table from a girl sitting on a red couch.

Said girl had long green hair that she wore in twin ponytails, matching green eyes, and tanned skin. She wore a pink flower in her hair, tied on by a dark green vine-like headband, grey overalls and matching grey short-shorts with tattered cuffs, and green shoes with white toes and soles and dark green vine-like laces tied into bows.

"So that means, you're really not a new student after all!" The green-haired girl realized.

"I guess I never really got a chance to explain..."

"It's my fault," the girl admitted. "I'm in such a hurry all the time, I can miss things." She explained as Samson turned on a TV-like video phone and waited for the call to go through.

"Aren't you worried about those Unovan friends of yours, Ash? You said they were in the forest with that Pokémon, right?" Delia asked.

"Nah, I'm sure they're fine!" Ash answered optimistically. "They're both really strong Trainers, and their Pokémon know awesome moves!"

Just as Ash finished speaking, the video call came through. "Hey, Samuel!" Samson greeted. "It's me! I got your egg safe and sound!" the principal stated as he held said egg.

"Excellent, Samson!" The professor exclaimed as his image appeared. Samson softly placed the egg on the table as his cousin spoke. "That's what I like to hear! Thanks to you, Delia."

"It's my greatest pleasure." She replied.

"Say, Principal Oak, sir?" The green-haired girl spoke up. "May I show Ash around the campus?" Ash excitedly turned to the principal at the request, clearly hoping for a yes.

"Of course! _Porygon_ your way!" the principal replied, imitating Porygon and even trying to wink like one as he gave a thumbs-up.

"Ready to go, Ash?"

"Yeah!" Ash replied excitedly, standing up.

The two made their way to the door, but when they opened it, they found the blonde girl from the Tauros field- Lillie, Ash remembered the boy saying- standing there just about to knock.

"Mallow! You're already with the principal?" Lillie asked, putting her hand down.

"Hi, Lillie! Yeah, I was just about to show Ash around the campus. What's up?" The green girl- Mallow, apparently- replied.

"We found these two outside, another new student and a Trainer we think could be a really good teacher! Or, at least, an assistant-teacher." Lillie explained, stepping aside so Ash and Mallow could see the blue-haired girl and the boy from earlier, who were holding a clearly non-compliant Sai, with Shane awkwardly standing behind them hugging his Servine.

"W-we're not students!" Shane protested.

"Or teachers!" Sai added.

"Wow! You're gonna teach here, Sai?! That's awesome!" Ash said excitedly.

"I've clearly told them several times I have no intention of being a teacher!" Sai countered, flailing his arms furiously.

"And I don't know how I feel about being a student here." Shane said.

"A new teacher, eh? What makes you think you've got the right _Stufful_ for the job?" Principal Oak asked, imitating a Stufful.

Sai deadpanned at this. "First off, absolutely terrible pun. Second, please don't mention the Bewear line to me right now. And third, I don't even want the job." He told him.

"I don't think we're gonna win this, Sai. Maybe it won't be so bad." Shane said.

"He said he's caught just about every Pokémon species you can think of, Professor! Even Legendaries!" The boy, who'd been introduced as Sophocles, explained.

"It's true, sir! He even has a Darkrai with him at this very moment!" Lillie added, the Pitch-Black Pokémon rising from a shadow just in front of Sai.

**"Greetings, Principal Oak. It is true: I, Darkrai, am the most powerful Pokémon in Sai's possession."** Darkrai introduced himself pridefully.

"Okay, getting A LITTLE ahead of yourself." Sai warned the Pitch-Black Pokémon, raising an eyebrow.

The principal looked on in awe at this. "A Darkrai!? Inkay-redible! You truly must be one _Exeggutor_-ific Trainer!" He joked again, impersonating an Exeggutor.

"I may have to hurt this guy." Sai growled.

"Calm down, Sai. Happy place." Shane tried to calm down his friend/rival.

**"If I can't attack people, neither can you."** Darkrai told Sai.

"No need to be so _Heracross_! Why don't you _Simipour_ down and think it over? You might find it's not so_ Gastly_ to work here!"

"That's it, come here!" Sai snapped, trying to attack the principal, but he was held back by Darkrai, Shane and his Servine.

**"Pokémon do the battling! Not trainers!"** Darkrai reminded the former champion.

"I was just about to give Ash the tour anyway." Mallow spoke up. "Why don't the four of us show you around together?"

"YES! Please!" Shane agreed, struggling to back away from the principal with Sai in tow.

* * *

"Now, this is our classroom!" Mallow announced, leading everyone into a large, quarter-circle room with a notable open area like a balcony, complete with railing. There were seven wooden half-circle desks with wooden chairs, a metal ladder that presumably led to the roof of the school in the corner, one wall full of bookshelves, cabinets, and various pictures, and of course the other wall had the blackboard, chalk, and some other teaching tools.

Ash immediately ran to the railing, feeling the breeze alongside Pikachu. "Wow! This is so nice!" He commented as Pikachu squeaked happily.

"And that's not all!" Mallow stated, joining him and pointing to several places as she called them out. "There's also the field where you met Tauros, and there's the lake, and the campus is huge and we learn all sorts of amazing things!"

"Yeah!" The boy, who'd introduced himself as Sophocles, added. "Like the origins of Alola's traditions, or the history of Alolan Pokémon!"

"Hi!" a new voice chimed in from behind, getting the group's attention. They turned around to see a new man walking up, one hand in his white lab coat's pocket with the other raised in greeting. The man had tanned skin, black hair worn in a man-bun, and a goatee, with dark eyes underneath a pair of lightly tinted glasses with a teal frame. He wore a white sports cap with a rainbow symbol, with his lab coat left open and the sleeves rolled up, grey shorts with a teal stripe around the waist, and teal shoes with a white stripe. "A big 'Alola' to you all!"

"Alola, Professor Kukui!" the students replied in unison.

"Professor?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, he's our teacher!" Mallow stated. "Professor, we'd like you to meet Ash, Sai, and Shane!" she said as the four parted, gesturing to the foreign trio.

"Principal Oak just filled me in." Kukui replied. "Hi, Ash, Pikachu, Shane, Servine, Sai and Darkrai. The Pokémon School is a wonderful place. I hope you enjoy your visit here!"

"Thank you!" Ash replied cheerfully.

"Pika!"

"Vine!"

"Thank you, sir." Shane replied.

"I have to admit, it is pretty enjoyable." Sai said.

**"Even I like it. And I usually hate bright places like this."** Darkrai admitted.

Suddenly, everyone heard a roar near the school's front gate and turned to see the cause. A dark-skinned boy with a Charizard wearing a saddle on its back was stopped by three gangster-looking punks on motorcycles: a tall boy with blue hair, a girl with pink hair and a shorter boy with brown hair. "Who're they?" Ash asked.

"Stoppin' our bikes the way you did was NOT the smartest of moves!" The blue-haired punk warned the boy across from him.

"Yeah, just like my bro said!" The shorter punk agreed.

"Team Skull doesn't like anyone getting in our way!" Blue hair said, posing.

"You got that right!" The girl agreed.

"Yeah!" The short one added.

"I don't remember blocking the road. The only people I can see getting in the way are you!" The boy with the Charizard said.

"I like this guy. He's got an edge about him." Sai noted about the boy standing against the thugs.

**"Impressive."** Darkrai agreed.

"That's Kiawe." Professor Kukui stated. "He's a powerful Fire-type specialist from Akkala Island, and another student in our class."

"I see." Sai replied.

"We-hell! Listen to the big talker!" The thug leader scoffed at the defiance.

"I dare you to say that again!" The short one added as Lillie, Sophocles and Lana peaked out from behind the gate to watch the altercation from a closer, yet hidden location.

"Who are those guys?!" Ash asked impatiently as he ran up along with Mallow, Shane, Sai and their Pokémon.

"They're part of Team Skull. Always bullying us into a Pokémon battle! Not nice!" Mallow explained.

"Really? Well, I may not be a teacher yet, but it sounds like I might just have to teach these punks a lesson." Sai spoke smoothly and surely.

**"I'll give them nightmares that will put them back in diapers!"** Darkrai declared, clenching a fist.

"Feels a little extreme, considering they barely seem to be out of them in the first place." Shane deadpanned.

"I'll fight too!" Ash exclaimed, pumping a fist.

"Pika!" Pikachu added, his cheeks sparking.

"Hold on, Ash." Shane interrupted. "I hate to say it, but we should leave this to Sai and Darkrai."

"What? Why?!" Ash demanded, confused. It was rather odd for the younger Unovan to avoid helping someone.

"Listen. I'd like to pitch in, but after those fights in the woods, none of my team is really in shape to battle. And you've probably only got Pikachu, right?" The teen replied.

Ash still looked upset as he responded. "Well, yeah, but..."

"Besides, you know better than anyone how powerful Darkrai is, and we BOTH know how ruthless Sai can be."

Ash said nothing, but he and Pikachu still seemed tense, which didn't escape Shane's notice.

"Look, if by some magic, it goes south, or Team Rocket shows up, we'll jump in. For now, I think we'd just get in his way."

"If you're sure..." Ash reluctantly relented.

"Oh, who's this now? Some random do-gooder? Mind your own beeswax!" The blue-haired punk said.

"Yeah, what my bro said!" The short punk agreed.

"Yeah! Messing with Team Skull is asking for trouble!" The girl punk added.

Kiawe turned and looked at Sai with a bit of a glare. "I can handle them myself." He said.

Sai chuckled at this. "I don't doubt it. But if these punks really think they're tough, I'm curious to see how tough they are." He said.

**"And I'll show them how wrong they are."** Darkrai announced, stepping in front of Sai.

Kiawe was shocked at this. "Whoa! A Darkrai! Never mind. You've definitely got this." He said, moving over to the rest of the class.

"Whoa, bro! This guy's got a Legendary Pokémon!" The short punk said.

"Maybe this was a bad idea!" The girl punk said.

"So, what? That just means we'll be legends when we bring this thing down. Use all your Pokémon!" The blue-haired thug said, each of them tossing three Pokéballs, revealing nine Pokémon. Three revealed Zubat, but the others revealed three small lizard-like Pokémon and three small mongoose-like Pokémon.

"Hey! That's no fair!" Ash snapped, but Shane held him back

"I'd say the unfair part would be Sai using Darkrai." The younger Unovan trainer said, pulling out his PokéDex and scanning the new Alolan Pokémon.

"Salandit, the Toxic Lizard Pokémon. It burns its bodily fluids to create a sweet-smelling poisonous gas that disorients enemies, and attacks when they are distracted."

"Fire and Poison-type. The pre-evolved form of Salazzle." Shane read aloud. "Why does it say only the females can evolve?"

"Researchers theorize it's because of malnutrition." Lillie explained. "In the wild, male Salandits give all their food to the females."

"If they're so easy to catch that punk like that has three, how hasn't there been a trainer who's kept a male well-fed?" Shane asked. Lillie paused, suddenly pondering it herself. When she said nothing, the Unovan turned back and scanned the next Alolan Pokémon.

"Yungoos, the Loitering Pokémon. It has sturdy fangs and jaws, and an insatiable appetite."

"Well there's _that_ Salandit's problem." Shane deadpanned. _'Guess I'll have to ask Sai about it later. I'm sure he's caught at least one male before getting Salazzle.'_ he mentally noted. "Poison might be a reason to worry if they get ludicrously lucky. Ash, Pikachu, be ready to jump in, but WAIT for my signal, okay? I doubt we'll need to, but after Bewear, even the impossible could happen today."

"Right!"

"Pika!" the two responded intensely.

As that was happening, Sai was being Sai.

"Wow. nine against one? I'm so disappointed I'm almost impressed." The older Unovan taunted the punks, who all growled at the insult.

**"Wow, I'm almost willing to care. Almost."**

"Now, Salandit, show 'em your strength with Venoshock!" The blue-haired thug ordered, the tiny lizard Pokémon all jumping into the air and firing shots of purple poison at Darkrai.

"Yungoos, use Bite!" The shot punk ordered, the weasel like Pokémon rushing towards Darkrai with their teeth glowing.

"Zubat! Leech life!" The girl ordered as well, the Zubats dive-bombing Darkrai with glowing fangs.

**"Let's crush them!"** Darkrai shouted.

Sai considered it, but then smirked. "Nah, let's have a bit of fun with them first." He suggested. "Just dodge for now. Let's see how well they keep up." He instructed.

Darkrai rolled its eyes at this, but nodded. **"Fine."** It huffed, effortlessly dodging the numerous attacks despite the large number of attacks being used against it at once. It then rushed forwards and bounced off the heads of the Zubats to reach the airborne Salandits, simply bopping them and sending them to the ground, crashing into the Yungoos as they attempted to bite Darkrai once again.

"Whoa! They're actually winning against nine Pokémon at once!" Sophocles said.

"And it's more like toying with them than fighting." Kiawe noted.

"That's Sai for you." Ash said.

Darkrai spun and whipped its long hair around, smacking and disorienting the Zubats as they had split off and surrounded him, jumping and causing the Zubats to crash into each other. "Quick, Salandit! Use Flame Burst!" The leader ordered, the Salandits all firing several balls of fire, which Darkrai dodged by casually leaning back, letting them soar over it.

Finally, however, this gave an opening big enough for the Yungoos to jump at Darkrai, trying to bite at its face, the Pitch-Black Pokémon raising its arm to intercept the attack, the weasel Pokémon clamping their jaws down on his arm. "Oh, no!" Ash said, him and Pikachu about to run in, before they noticed the deadpan expressions on both Sai and Darkrai's faces.

The Yungoos changed from a look of fury to shock and horror as they hung limply from Darkrai's arm while it looked at them in annoyance. **"Really? Using a Dark type move on a Dark Legendary?"** Darkrai questioned, simply swinging his arm and throwing them off into the Zubats and Salandits again.

"You're so boring, you're making me fall asleep. Let's return the favor, Darkrai. Dark Void." Sai instructed.

**"Got it."** Darkrai confirmed, creating a ball of darkness with red aura outlining it in its hands, before pushing it outward, several smaller balls of darkness flying everywhere, hitting each of the enemy Pokémon, forming a pink and crimson bubble around them and putting them to sleep.

"No way! He put 'em all to sleep!" The leader said.

"Not good!" The short one said.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" The girl said.

"Now, send them all packing with Dark Pulse." Sai announced.

**"Finally."** Darkrai said with a smirk, creating another orb of darkness in its hands and firing a beam of black and purple circles from the orb at the opponents, sending them flying into their trainers, knocking them back into their bikes.

The punks were all dazed, before snapping back to reality and looking down at their Pokémon, who had all fainted. Darkrai and Sai then stepped up to them threateningly. "Now, unless you want nightmares for the rest of your lives, I suggest you stay far away from me, this Pokémon school and all the students in it!" Sai warned them all.

They all stammered in fear, scrambling to recall their Pokémon and jump back on their bikes. "You got lucky this time! This ain't over!" The leader snapped.

"Yeah! Just like my bro said!" The short one agreed.

"You only won because you used a Legendary!" The girl called back as they drove out of sight.

**"Please let me go beat them up some more."** Darkrai requested.

"Nah. I think they've had enough. Even without getting hit by Dark Void, I think they're still in for a nightmare or twenty." Sai dismissed.

"Honestly, I feel bad for those Pokémon. They're _definitely_ having nightmares after that." Shane said, walking up to Sai and Darkrai alongside everyone else.

"That was amazing!" Sophocles exclaimed, starry-eyed. "I knew Legendary Pokémon were powerful, but to defeat nine Pokémon at once with hardly any effort?!"

"Indeed," Kiawe pitched in, "Normally it would take a Z-Move of some kind to take out nine foes at once, even weak ones like those."

Ash and Shane glanced at each other in confusion. "Z-Move?" the two asked in unison.

"Remember Continental Crush and Acid Downpour?" Sai reminded.

"The big moves you used in the forest? It looked like they took a lot out of you." Shane asked.

"Yeah. Those were Z-Moves." Sai stated. "As for taking a lot out of me, that was probably from using two of them basically back-to-back."

"Z-Moves are special moves passed down in the Alola region." Kukui explained. "Alola consists of four islands, and each island has its own Guardian Pokémon. Only those who participate in a ceremony called the Island Challenge are able to use Z-Moves."

With every word spoken, Ash got more and more excited. "Island Guardians...Island Challenge...and Z-Moves, too!" he repeated to himself, both him and Pikachu getting starry-eyed.

"I'm guessing this Island Challenge involves traveling around each of Alola's islands, and has something to do with that bracelet Sai's wearing?" Shane asked.

"It's called a Z-Ring." Sai added, holding up his arm to reveal said bracelet. "And you need Z-Crystals too." He added, pointing to the dark purple crystal in his Z-Ring, likely a Poison crystal, since he had done that poison Z-move with Salazzle last.

Kukui nodded. "Quite an astute observation, Shane. And I must say, Sai, if there were any doubts before, you've more than aced the interview by now. Besides that Mega Punch-level battle, you already seem to have made quite a bit of progress in the Island Challenge. How far along are you?"

"Actually, when did you even get here?" Shane asked. "Ash and I only got here today, but it seems like you've been here for a while."

"I'm gonna ignore that move pun and just take the compliment. Anyway, I just completed the Ula'ula island trial earlier today, as a matter of fact. And I suppose I've been here for about 3 months." Sai explained.

"**The hardest part was getting that old man Nanu to accept our challenge."** Darkrai grumbled.

"Yeah, I've seen Snorlaxes that aren't as lazy as that guy." Sai agreed.

"Well, being Kahuna can take a lot out of a guy." Kukui chuckled. "But now, what do you say? We could use another teacher around here, assistant or not and you've definitely got the right qualities for the job." Kukui said.

"Man, you guys are insistent, aren't you? I'll still need a bit of time to think it over, but... I'll say there's definitely a chance I'd be willing to help teach here." Sai told the professor.

"**Sai teaching? I thought I was the one that gave people nightmares."** Darkrai joked.

"Hey, you could always go back in your ball, you know!" Sai warned the Pitch-Black Pokémon.

"Say, Ash, Shane, you two seem pretty interested in the Island Challenge, and it sounds like you both enjoy a good battle." Kukui observed, snapping Ash out of his daze.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be a Pokémon Master!" Ash replied, determination apparent.

Shane nodded. "Battles, contests, movies...as long as it involves working with my Pokémon and bringing out their full potential, I'm up for it!"

"Oh, I see." Kukui replied with a smile, turning away with a hand on his chin. Shane crouched down, petting his Servine as a random berry bounced off Ash's head. Ash turned around, he and Pikachu catching sight of a strange Pokémon just before it vanished behind a tree.

"Who's that Pokémon?" He asked, to the group's confusion.

"Huh?"

"Pokémon?"

"I don't see anything..." Mallow said, looking where Ash was facing.

"It was just there!" Ash replied, turning back to the group. "It was a Pokémon for sure! It was yellow, about this big, with an orange crest on its head!" He explained, using his arms to illustrate its size and some other features.

"Yeah, I saw it, too. It was just a flash, but it was definitely there." Sai agreed.

"**It had to be one of them..."** Darkrai said.

Kukui looked surprised as it clicked. "That sounds like..."

"Tapu Koko." Kiawe said.

"You saw Tapu Koko?" Lillie asked. "Guardian of Melemele Island?"

"Wow, guardian?" Ash asked, his voice quiet. "That's what that was?"

* * *

Night had fallen on Alola, and three particular Trainers were thinking hard about their day. The Unovan Duo were walking to the Pokémon Center, simply chatting and catching up since their separation in Kalos.

"...but she says 'we hope to see you again!' That's a TERRIBLE thing to say at a Pokémon Center! That's basically saying 'we hope your Pokémon get hurt!'"

"You know, I never really thought about it like that before, but you're right..."

"Exactly!"

Elsewhere, the Ketchum family, including Ash, Delia, Pikachu, and Mr. Mime, were dining at an open-air restaurant.

Having taken a bite, Delia couldn't resist commenting. "This is so good!"

Ash, however, was lost in thought as he chewed his food. Meeting the students of the Pokémon School, seeing Sai and Shane again, Sai's powerful Z-Move, getting a glimpse of Tapu Koko... he couldn't resist a smile as his eyes lit up at the idea of another new adventure.

"Anything interesting happen today?" His mother's voice snapped out of his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You seem a bit distracted this evening." Delia noted, smiling.

Ash chuckled a bit, grinning, but before he could say anything a piercing screech rang out. In confusion, the Ketchums looked around for the source of the voice until Ash caught sight of Tapu Koko again. Immediately, he got up, moving the railing to get a better look, where he saw Tapu Koko sitting on a tree.

"Yeah, that was it!" Ash said as Tapu Koko took off again. The boy jumped over the railing and ran after the Island Guardian, Pikachu following close by with his Trainer's hat on his own head.

As Ash and Pikachu searched for Tapu Koko, Shane and Sai were relatively close, enjoying a meal courtesy of the Pokémon Center.

"...I'm not sure what to do, myself." Shane said, poking idly at his food, a fully-healed Reso seated next to him. "Really, it depends on what you and Ash do. I'm just not entirely comfortable traveling by myself after what happened in Kanto. Plus, most of the interesting stuff happens around Ash, and it always works out, so it's a lot easier to relax. Even this close to Unova. _Especially_ this close to Unova."

"You're certainly right about that. If Ash is around, there's never a dull moment." Sai agreed. He sighed at the mention of Unova, however. "I know it was rough for you, there and bad things happened, but you need to move on. You're stronger than you were back then. And team Plasma is gone. You have nothing to worry about. You're more than capable of taking care of yourself and your Pokémon now." He said supportively. "And maybe another journey is just what you need to prove that. Still, it is nice to have friends along. If you're asking me, the Pokémon school is a pretty good option." He said, before he noticed Ash and Pikachu. "Hey, where are they going?" He asked, pointing to them.

As Shane and Reso looked, the Lucario suddenly stood up, barking something before running off.

"'The Guardian?' Reso, wait!" Shane called, grabbing his bag and hat as he gave chase with Sai close behind.

"Okay, what is it with this kid? I have to hunt for these Legendaries through every corner of the region, but they just come to him on their own!" Sai demanded, a bit jealous, but continued to follow.

Ash followed Tapu Koko up some stairs, arriving at a viewing point overlooking most of the town. Pikachu was perched on his shoulder again, the Trainer's hat atop his head as it was supposed to be. Tapu Koko hovered just beyond the railing as Ash walked up, the powerful Pokémon sparkling in an otherworldly manner.

"The spirit guardian...that's Tapu Koko?" Ash whispered, awed as he saw it in full. "Why do you keep coming to me?" he asked, walking up to it. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

As Ash approached, a certain Lucario arrived, and behind it was a particular pair of Pokémon Trainers.

Tapu Koko held up its right claw, which held a white ring-shaped object. The guardian released its grip, levitating the object to Ash. Seeing it up close made it easier to tell it was a familiar-looking white bracelet with a dimly glowing yellow crystal embedded in it. Ash could make out the black lightning bolt symbol on the crystal, even as it spun around in place.

"That looks like what Sai was wearing." Ash noted, looking back up at Tapu Koko.

"Tapu Ko-koooo!" the guardian chirped.

Ash blinked in confusion. Tapu Koko nodded, and after a moment, Ash smiled and nodded back, reaching out for the bracelet. As he gripped it, the crystal's glow intensified. Ash and Pikachu flinched for a moment, but Ash slipped it on anyway, causing the crystal to shine even brighter. Shane and Sai were forced to cover their eyes until the light show finished. Eventually, the glow died down, letting the Unovan duo see as Ash and Pikachu looked at the Z-Ring in awe, before they all turned their eyes back to Tapu Koko. The deity lingered for a moment, allowing the entire group to see it, before dashing off.

"Hey!" Ash called, running up to the railing. Tapu Koko was long gone, however, and Ash simply looked back at the Z-Ring again, smiling.

"That was Tapu Koko." Sai stated in awe. He then looked at the Z-Ring. "So, you received yours from a guardian as well."

The other two looked at him in shock. "What?! Your ring came from a guardian, too?!" Ash asked in amazement.

Sai nodded at this. "Tapu Fini. The guardian of Poni Island." He explained.

He then pulled out a Pokéball and released a beetle-like Pokémon with a large pair of mandibles. Its small orange face had robotic, yellow eyes and was covered by a blue carapace. The mandibles extended from this helmet. They were blue on the inner surface and yellow on the outer surface. At the base of each mandible was a large spike and the inside was lined with short spikes. Its body was black and divided into three sections by yellow rings. The last two sections had a yellow spot on each side. On its back was a pair of wide, flat wings that were transparent with blue wing covers. It had four legs; the front pair of legs had two claws, while the back pair has only one. "Vikavolt!" It announced.

"Whoa! What's that Pokémon?!" Ash asked in awe. Shane, however, glanced at it uncomfortably.

"Vikavolt. There's a special place on Poni island where you can evolve its pre-evolution, Charjabug, into Vikavolt and after I did that, I happened across a Pokémon Poacher hunting some Noivern." Sai explained, causing Shane and Ash to growl at the mention of Pokémon Poachers, Ash especially, due to him having a faithful Noivern of his own, hating to think about them being hunted. "To put it mildly, Vikavolt and I taught him a very similar lesson Darkrai and I taught those Team Skull punks, then Tapu Fini came before me and offered me my Z-Ring. An elder on the island told me about the Island challenges and that's when I started." He explained.

"Wow. That's amazing, Sai!" Ash said excitedly.

Sai smiled and shook his head. "Still nothing compared to Tapu Koko just giving you one. Like Shane and I were just saying, there's never a dull moment with you around." He said.

"You're both pretty lucky." Shane said, idly scratching Reso behind the ears, partly to help calm himself. "If I don't want to fall too far behind, I'll have to get myself a Z-Ring too, and since I doubt a Legendary Pokémon is going to take an interest in me, that means taking the Island Challenge. What are you going to do, Ash?"

"Mom and I were only supposed to be here for a vacation, but..." Ash replied, glancing at his new Z-Ring.

"You're staying, right?" Shane guessed. Ash nodded, and Shane grinned. "I knew it from the moment Z-Moves came up. If there's one thing about you that's truly predictable, it's that you never turn down the chance for a new adventure."

"Yeah, for sure!" Ash replied.

"Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu added excitedly.

"So, why don't we all travel together?" Shane suggested. "There's no way you're not planning on taking the Island Challenge too, and Sai's already started, so we won't have much to worry about."

"Actually, I was thinkin' of joining the Pokémon School." Ash stated, to Shane's visible shock.

"What?" Shane asked, blinking.

"Yeah!" Ash replied. "Learning with others from Professor Kukui and Sai will make me an even better Trainer!" he held up his arm, showing the Z-Ring. "And, you know, I can't help feeling like Tapu Koko gave this to me for a reason. Like it chose me."

"Like Zekrom did?" Shane clarified, scratching his own head now instead of his Lucario's.

Ash nodded. "Maybe. I'd like to thank it for trusting me with this, at least. And I'll probably see it again eventually, if I stick around, right?"

"...Alright, I guess it makes sense. What do you think, Sai? Decided whether you're up for teaching yet?" Shane asked, turning to the older Unovan and ignoring Reso's pleading expression.

Sai chuckled. "Well, like you said Ash, you want to learn from Kukui and me, so I suppose I can't turn that down. Besides, with the two of you here now, I may get an actual challenge every now and then. So I guess the Pokémon school just got a new teacher." He declared.

"Well, if that's how it is this time, why not? I'll join the school too." Shane decided, then looked thoughtful. "I just hope we do actually end up in the same class."

"Leave that to me. I can be VERY persuasive." Sai reassured.

Considering Sai's definition of persuasion, Shane wasn't sure whether to relieved or even more concerned.

"This is gonna be so awesome!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed excitedly.

And so, a chance encounter in the forest has ended with Ash receiving a powerful gift from the mysterious Tapu Koko, and our heroes choosing to begin what promises to be an exciting Alolan adventure as the journey continues!

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**I still can't believe we actually got this done. I won't make promises about getting on a consistent schedule since I don't have any kind of backlog and Sai told me to go ahead and upload this, but I can promise the next update won't take nearly as long. Maybe a few weeks, possibly a month, but it shouldn't be too much longer than that.**

**Just as an update for loyal fans and friends, however few (or nonexistent) they might be, Black & White Master Quest is going to be re-written a bit soon. It's rather old now, and I didn't have much of a plan back then. I won't entirely throw out what I already wrote, but I will be making extensive edits, and future updates for this story will be acknowledging only the new version of those events. For changes that confuse or upset anyone, and I know one thing that definitely will, please bear with me as I will include explanations for particular changes or the lack thereof compared to the show in the bottom author notes, as long as they aren't super spoiler-y.**

**While I'm in a bit of a bind with Black and White due to certain areas of easy access not being available, rest assured that I will finish that story. I repeat, it is NOT canceled, dead, or up for adoption. On Hiatus, perhaps, but only until I find a way to get my hands on the Unova saga so I can reliably translate episodes into chapters. Once I get a bit more into it, it won't always be necessary to watch existing episodes as certain plotlines will diverge from canon massively if you're willing to bear with me until it gets to that point.**

**Once again, very special thanks to Sai Kunai Blade. Read his fics too.**


	2. Settling into School! Alola, Everyone!

**Quick note, I made some small edits to the previous chapter shortly before uploading this one. If you discovered this story before this chapter uploaded, please re-read the previous chapter. ****This note will be removed upon the release of chapter 3.**

**Just so it's known, the phrase "streak(s) of motion" is how I describe a certain comedic anime trope. You've likely seen it countless times- it's that thing you see when characters zip between hiding places, occasionally seen when a character face-faults, recovers from a face-fault, or when characters recover from falling over for other slapstick-y reasons. Let me know in reviews if I'm horrible at explaining it.**

* * *

It's another beautiful Alolan morning, the start of a new chapter in three young Trainers' lives.

"Zzzz...Zzzz..."

But what's this? It looks like one of our heroes isn't very energetic just yet! Luckily, their faithful partners know the very best ways to share energy.

"CHUUUUUU!"

"GYAJAJAJA!"

_THUD_

In a streak of motion, Shane leapt to his feet from his place on the floor, facing the electric mouse who'd chosen the worst way to start his day. "Sparkle, what the heck was that for?!"

The Pikachu simply held up an Umbreon-themed clock. "Chu!"

The Unovan Trainer took the clock, examining it closely before his brain clicked and he snapped his fingers. "Oh, that's right! We start Pokémon School today!" He remembered, pulling out Sparkle's Poké Ball.

"Pika!" She protested, but he simply glared at her.

"No, you don't get walking privileges after zapping me like that. There are better ways to wake me up than Thunderbolt."

"Pika..." The mouse grumbled, crossing her arms and sulking as the red light withdrew her.

* * *

"Let's go, Altius, Blade!" Shane called, releasing his Pidgeot and Servine, the latter of whom landed on his shoulder. Both Trainer and Pokémon were freshly bathed, and Shane wore a new outfit. A simple white Poké Ball T-shirt with black edges, light blue jeans, a brown belt, white sneakers, a black baseball cap with the same design as Ash's, and a black Poké Ball-themed backpack defined his look now, though he naturally still wore his Mega Ring on his right wrist.

"Vine!"

"Geot!"

"Calm down, you two." Shane said, smiling. "Altius, you still okay with flying us?"

The Pidgeot nodded, turning around and spreading his wings. Once his Trainer was safely on board, Altius took off without difficulty, and settled into a relaxed glide.

* * *

It wasn't long before they arrived at the Pokémon School, where Ash and Professor Kukui were just arriving themselves. Ash was quick to notice his slightly older friend's arrival as the Pidgeot landed just before the gate.

"Alola, Shane!" Ash greeted naturally.

Shane quietly thanked his Pokémon before withdrawing it. "Alola, Ash, Professor."

"Alola!" Kukui replied. "So, ready to Ingrain yourselves in our class?"

"You bet!"

"Pikachu!"

"As ready as I can be."

"Servine!"

"By the way, Professor..." Shane said. "Did Sai do anything... uh, extra, to set us up in the same class?"

Kukui shook his head. "Nah, it was no problem. The principal had planned as much from the moment he offered Sai the job."

Shane nodded, and the three made their way to the classroom.

* * *

In said classroom, newly-hired Assistant Teacher Sai casually leaned against the blackboard wall, watching the students until Kukui's arrival.

"Popplio, make a balloon!" Lana commanded, crouching in front of her partner a few inches from the classroom's railing.

The little blue Pokémon blew a bubble of water out of its nose, inflating it until it was a little bigger than the sea lion's head, at which point it popped. Lana shielded her face as Popplio shook its head dry.

At his desk, Sophocles typed rapidly on a red keyboard, staring at a holographic computer screen emitted from a Pikachu-shaped device attached to a generator in front of his desk. "Togedemaru, Charge Program...execute!" he commanded. The round Electric-type complied, jumping into a red wheel Sophocles had somehow attached to the side of his desk and starting to run on it to charge the generator.

"Hey, Mallow?" Lillie called, walking up to the taller girl and handing her a tablet. "The recipe you came up with? If you add a Mago berry or Aguav berry, the Pokémon food will be better balanced."

"Lillie, you're just the best! I'll try it now. Thank you!" Mallow replied.

"I'm happy to help!"

"Bounsweet!" Mallow's Pokémon exclaimed, jumping towards Lillie...and eliciting a scream.

Mallow quickly retrieved the berry-like Pokémon. "It's such a shame." she said, putting Bounsweet back on her shoulder. "You know so much about Pokémon, but you can't touch them..."

"I can too touch them!" Lillie replied, tilting her head up slightly. "I theorize it's only a matter of if I want to touch them or not."

Sai, who had been watching the students go about their pre-class activities, couldn't help but chuckle at the way Lana and Sophocles interacted with their Pokémon, but then frowned at Lillie's apparent fear of Pokémon. "Afraid of Pokémon, huh? We'll have to fix that at some point." He said quietly to himself.

Before the girls could continue their conversation, they noticed Kiawe walking in through the door behind them.

"Alola!" Mallow greeted cheerfully. "Did you have a delivery this morning?"

"Yeah, to Ula'ula Island." Kiawe replied, walking to his desk.

"Ula'ula Island?" Sophocles repeated as the older boy sat down. "That's far away!"

"With my Charizard, it takes no time at all."

"Alola!" Kukui's voice greeted the class.

"Alola!" Several voices replied, though not all.

As Professor Kukui walked in through the door Kiawe hadn't taken, Ash and Shane followed. Kiawe immediately noticed Ash's new Z-Ring, and quietly gasped in surprise.

"Alola!" The two new students greeted, to separate volumes and degrees of cheerfulness.

"Starting today, Ash and Shane will be joining the Pokémon School. If they have any questions, please don't hesitate to help them out." Kukui said.

"See, I really wanna become a Pokémon Master, so I want to learn everything about this place. Glad to be here!" Ash said.

"Pika!"

"I just adore Pokémon, and I want to make sure every single one that joins me reaches their full potential, be it in contests or battles! So I'm happy to be here, learning with you all." Shane stated, petting Blade.

"Ser!"

"And also as you may have heard, we have a Legendary new assistant teacher here, Professor Sai Blade!" Kukui announced.

Sai chuckled at this. "Thank you, Professor Kukui, but I'm no legend. I just catch the Legendaries." He said, before turning to the class. "Alola, everyone. Like the professor said, I'll be an assisting him teach all of you and, on occasion, I may even give a special lecture about the Legendaries. Legends sometimes miss out on some of the facts, so it's my job to get those fact across. Oh, but you don't have to call me Professor or anything. Just Sai is fine. If you need any help, I'll be happy to assist you." He explained.

"Wow! Lessons on Legendaries?!" Sophocles asked with eyes gleaming.

"And will you have the Legendaries with you so we can see them?!" Lana asked hopefully, praying she'd get the chance to see Kyogre.

"Of course. Learning is always better with visual aid." Sai confirmed.

* * *

A little later, the other students were talking to Ash and Shane as Kiawe, Kukui and Sai watched from further back.

"Whoa, Ash! That's so cool!" Sophocles said.

"Is that a Z-Crystal on your wrist?!" Mallow asked in awe.

"Yeah. It's an Electrium Z." Kiawe explained as he walked up. "Where did you get that? Not the Island Challenge. You didn't participate and pass the trials that I know of." He questioned.

Ash smiled and looked at his Z-Ring before looking back up at Kiawe. "Tapu Koko gave it to me." He explained, shocking the rest of the class.

"Tapu Koko?" Kiawe asked.

"No way! You saw it again?!" Mallow asked.

"Uh-huh. Pikachu and I heard Tapu Koko's voice, so we took off after it. Shane and Sai saw us and followed too. And when we found Tapu Koko, this thing just came floating down to us. Yep, right out of the sky." Ash said.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Well, it wasn't quite like that..." Shane said.

"Tapu Koko was holding it in its claw, it didn't just fall from the sky. It did float it down to you, though." Sai relayed the information.

Shane nodded. "And then hovered in place until Ash grabbed it."

"Tapu Koko... How could it have gotten a Z-Ring?" Kiawe asked.

"And then?" Mallow asked.

"It felt like... Tapu Koko was telling me that the ring was for me!" Ash explained, putting his hand over the ring.

"Plus," Shane added, "it shined brightly when he gripped it, and even brighter once he slipped it on."

"And that's how it all happened." Ash finished, leaving the rest of the class, minus Shane and Sai, in awe.

Lillie was the first to return to her senses. "I've read about Tapu Koko before. Tapu Koko's very well known... As the guardian who likes to help islanders, but it also likes to play tricks on people. And if it thinks it's necessary, it can sometimes even punish them! I also read that on rare occasions, it will also give mysterious gifts to people it likes." She explained.

Mallow leaned forward. "That's great! That must mean Tapu Koko really likes Ash!" She said.

"Well, he's a pretty likable person, he's definitely got that going for him. And most people that don't either are huge jerks, or definitely come across that way." Sai threw in.

"Hold on! Kiawe, you got your Z-Ring from the Akkala Island kahuna, right?" Sophocles asked the taller boy.

"That's right. By successfully passing the grand trial." Kiawe said, looking at his own Z-Ring.

"That's awesome! Does this mean I can use Z-Moves just like you and Sai, Kiawe?" Ash asked.

"Using Z-Moves should not be taken lightly!" Kiawe snapped, catching Ash off-guard. The older boy closed his eyes, visualizing Melemele Island and recalling the feeling of using his Z-Move with Turtonator. "Only when a Pokémon and trainer's hearts become one will the Z-Ring turn their feelings into power. But those feelings must be about something greater than themselves... Like..."

"Like what?" Ash asked.

"Helping the islands. Helping Pokémon. Or helping others. Only those who care about all living things in our world are permitted to use Z-Moves." Kiawe finished his explanation with his arms crossed, looking at the new Z-Ring owner. "I'm not exactly sure what Tapu Koko saw in you, but now that you're a Z-Ring owner, you need to realize your responsibility." He warned, before turning to Sai. "Professor Sai, you can also use Z-Moves, I'm sure you must agree." He said.

Sai jolted up at this, both in surprise... and the fact he uses Z-Moves on a whim because they look awesome or can wrap up a fight simpler and easier. "What? Uh- yes! Z-Moves are sacred and very important. And should only be used when the situation ABSOLUTELY calls for it. NEVER just to look cool or because they make battles easier." He said, failing to hide the guilt in his voice.

"...I'm not sure I believe you, but in fairness, the ones from yesterday were pretty necessary." Shane stated. "I mean, both Sparkle and Bewear pushed you pretty hard. I _still_ can't believe that thing shrugged off both that and a super-effective attack from a Mega Evolution..."

"Well, anyway, I don't understand much of that complicated stuff, Kiawe." Ash admitted, hold up his Z-Ring. "But I know how special the Z-Moves are. For sure! You can count on me." He said, before his expression turned a bit sheepish. "And that's about all I can say."

"...That's good enough." Kiawe said, smiling.

"So, we have a clash between a Thunderbolt and a Flamethrower... very nice." Kukui muttered, before speaking up to address the students. "Alright class, it's almost time for Pokémon Science. Today's teacher is Principal Oak." He announced.

* * *

Outside, Principal Oak's Komala let out a yawn at the top of a palm tree. Inside, Principal Oak was dressed as an Exeggutor as he stood along with its Alolan form. "I immediately regret taking this job." Sai sighed with a facepalm.

"Like this Exeggutor and Alolan Exeggutor, there are many Pokémon that look different in the Alola region and who are of a different type as well." The principal explained, standing next to an Alolan Exeggutor, who had to have its incredibly long neck stretched out of the side of the classroom.

"Wow. Their heights are totally different." Sophocles noted.

"Their faces look the same." Lana pointed out.

"The reason Alolan Exeggutor have grown taller is Alola's climate. Alola is warm and sunny all year round, so it's the perfect climate for Exeggcute and Exeggutor to thrive. As a matter of fact, it can be stated that an Alolan Exeggutor looks exactly the way it's supposed to. Of course, this is the result of living in an ideal environment." Principal Oak explained.

"Well, I mean, that's a little arrogant. Assuming one version's better than the other because of their region, or one is how it's supposed to look, meaning the other one doesn't look right." Sai criticized.

"Exegg!" The Exeggutor said happily.

Principal Oak scratched his head at Sai's interruption. "Oh, well, nothing against non-Alolan Exeggutor, of course! It was merely one opinion." He assured, before continuing. "The phenomenon of Pokémon developing their distinct appearance based on the region in which they live is called Regional Variants. For example, Exeggutor is normally a Grass and Psychic-type." He explained.

"Psychic-type?" Lillie asked, surprised.

"But can anyone tell me what type Alolan Exeggutor is? Like a Machamp!" He asked, posing and making the face of a Machamp.

With a flash of light, an Ultra Ball in Sai's hand opened to reveal a Regice. "Regice, ice beam on my feet, keep me from beating that old coot." Sai instructed, barely restraining himself from attacking the Principal.

"Reg?" It asked, titling its head in confusion, but complied and froze its master's feet to the ground.

Everyone was shocked at this, but Lillie was the first to shake it off, raising her hand. "Alolan Exeggutor is a Grass and Dragon-Type." She answered.

"Grass and Dragon?!" Ash asked in shock, getting up and walking over to Exeggutor. "Wow, so Exeggutor's a Dragon-Type, too! It's so cool you even have a tail." He said, petting said tail, shocking everyone.

"There's something about its tail you should know!" Lillie cried out.

Ash turned his attention to her and as he was distracted, the green head on the tail looked at him and became furious as he looked back, pulling back and swinging at him. "Regice! Get him out of there!" Sai ordered.

"Reg!" It complied, rushing forward, grabbing Ash and leaping back just before the tail could connect with them.

"Oh, brother..." Kiawe muttered.

"The tail of Alolan Exeggutor has a mind of its own. You need to be careful in case it decides to attack you, which is what I was trying to say before." Lillie explained as Regice set Ash down on his feet.

"Piiika..." Pikachu whispered, relieved.

"Next time, get to the point a little sooner, 'kay?" Ash requested.

Principal Oak laughed. "Y'see, learning here is like a wild Tauros. Have the patience of a Conkeldurr!" He joked, all three of his heads imitating Tauros and Conkeldurr. He even held up a pair of logs like Conkeldurr's concrete pillars.

Ash slumped, forcing a weak laugh.

Shane sighed. "Long as everyone's okay..." he muttered.

"I am going to hurt this man..." Sai growled, Regice quickly freezing Sai's hands together as he tried to grab at the professor.

* * *

After class, as everyone walked out the front gate, Shane was petting Altius as he prepared to take flight again.

"Shane! Hold on a sec!"

Shane turned around to see Ash run up to him with Professor Kukui not far behind. "What's up?"

"You up for a battle today?" Ash asked, pumping a fist.

"That could be fun." Kukui said. "I can referee, if you'd like."

"Pika!" Pikachu added energetically, sparking his cheeks.

"Servine!" Blade agreed, jumping off his Trainer and readying his vines.

"I don't that's a good idea right now." Shane said, causing Ash to deflate and the Pokémon to lose their balance.

"But why not?" Ash asked.

"We only got here yesterday, Ash." Shane replied as he picked up his sulking Servine. "Neither of us has a single Alolan Pokémon yet, and you've only got Pikachu on you."

"Well...yeah..."

"We can always battle later, though. How about...we battle once we each have three Alolan Pokémon and I have my own Z-Ring?" Shane offered.

"That does seem like a better idea." Kukui said. "It'd be a good way to measure your progress as Trainers, plus the excitement of a fun battle."

"Alright!" Ash agreed, re-energized. "It's a promise!"

"In the meantime, I was wondering something, Shane." Kukui said. "You probably had your Rest at the Pokémon Center last night, right? You could always stay at my place, like Ash."

"Thank you, but I actually already payed for a motel on Akala." Shane replied.

"On Akala?!" Kukui parroted, baffled. "There's a motel on Route Two right here on Melemele!"

All color drained from Shane as he stared blankly for a moment, before face-faulting. Blade, having foreseen his Trainer's pratfall, leapt weightlessly onto Ash's hat, joining the Kantonian and Kukui in staring at the faceplanted teen.

"How'd you wind up on a different island?!" Ash asked. "Even if you got lost, it's across the ocean!"

"I DID get lost..." Shane replied, suddenly sulking under Altius' wing as he hugged his knees, still colorless. "It was late, I was tired, I decided I'd try to explore a bit. I got stuck in the forest, and I started panicking, and I called out Altius to fly away because I didn't want to risk running into that Bewear. Next thing I knew, we were on a different island, so I called Cheren because he would know this kinda stuff and he's always up at that hour, and he recommended the motel after I explained everything."

There was a beat of silence as Altius awkward patted his Trainer's head while Ash and Kukui blinked. Eventually, Kukui found his words. "…Well, anyway, I wanted to ask you to stay at my place for at least tonight." He said. "You were pretty chatty yesterday, but after your introduction today you were rather quiet, especially once Principal Oak's lesson started. I'd like to get to know you better, and I'm sure Ash would enjoy having a friend over."

"You bet!" Ash agreed. "And Professor Kukui's place is awesome! There's a training room in the basement!"

"And a loft for student boarding." Kukui added.

"Alright." Shane said, regaining color as he stood up and faced them. "Sounds like fun."

* * *

As the sun set, dinner began in Kukui's household. The humble abode notably featured an aquarium that housed two Luvdisc, a section in a corner with a couch, coffee table, and TV. Said TV was up against a wooden divider that separated the living area with a small Pokemon play area, beyond which was a ladder leading to the loft the professor mentioned. Behind the aquarium, a set of stairs led down to the basement. Our heroes were seated at the coffee table in the living area as they awaited their food.

Professor Kukui placed the final of three plates before Ash and walked back to retrieve the bowl he'd prepared for Rockruff, Pikachu, and Blade.

"Whoa! This looks so awesome!" Ash exclaimed, drooling a bit as he admired the food. Shane nodded in agreement.

"It's called an 'Alola Plate', and it's a popular dish in this region." Kukui explained, putting down the Pokémon food as the Trainers started eating. "You like it?"

"I love it!" Ash replied.

"Mm-hm!" Shane agreed, nodding.

"Really? Love at first bite! Glad to hear it." Kukui said, chuckling.

The Pokémon were quick to get to work on their own treats, rather noisily chatting with each other as they dug in.

"Look at that! Rockruff and your partners are already friends!" Kukui observed, walking up to the table.

"'Cause Rockruff is friendly too. Thank you!" Ash said, putting his now empty plate down. Shane's also-empty plate joined it a moment later.

"Yes, thank you."

"You're both done?" Kukui asked, surprised. He looked over to the Pokémon trio to find... "Wow, you guys too!"

As Kukui walked around the table to his own seat and began eating, the new students stood up, seeing to the Pokémon.

"C'mere, Rockruff!" Ash beckoned, getting on his knees with his arms spread. The rock-puppy excitedly ran over, jumping into his arms and nuzzling the Kanto Trainer with its collar as it wagged its tail. Ash hugged it for a brief moment, before Rockruff decided to jump out of his arms and nuzzle Pikachu, then Blade, and then finally, Shane.

Kukui didn't miss their brief uncomfortable expressions, putting down his spoon for a moment to explain. "Y'see, the way that Rockruff greet one another is by rubbing the rocks on their necks against each other. It's obvious that Rockruff really likes you guys!"

"Yeah, Rockruff? You do?" Ash asked, turning back to it and receiving another rocky nuzzle.

"Rockruff is such a sweet little cutie!" Shane said, scratching it behind its ears, only to get another nuzzle-hug from the puppy Pokémon.

"Speaking of sweet Pokémon, I can't help noticing that Servine of yours is quite friendly too." Kukui said. "Most of the Servine I see are confident and aloof."

"Yeah, Blade's a total sweetheart." Shane replied as Rockruff nuzzled the other Pokémon again. "I raised him from an egg, so I'm not sure if it's just his personality, or if I had something to do with it."

"You named him Blade?" Kukui asked. "Isn't 'Blade' also Sai's last name? Doesn't that get confusing?"

"Maybe." Shane replied. "I've considered changing it, but I could never think of anything better, and just calling him 'Servine' feels odd now. He hatched before I met Sai, and it's never really been an issue. At least, Sai hasn't said anything that I remember."

"If you say so." Kukui said. Suddenly, the professor's phone started ringing, prompting him to stand up as he answered, walking away from the kids and Pokémon. "Kukui here, what's up? ...Huh...Uh, yeah..."

Ash and Shane looked up the professor for a moment, but as he walked behind the aquarium, decided it wasn't their business and simply started chatting, occasionally letting the Pokémon steal their attention.

Kukui came to a stop with a small smile. "I see. Alright then."

* * *

Mallow's smile grew as the conversation ended, and she turned around as she hung up to address those seated behind her. "Alright! Listen up! The professor says it's okay!"

"So it's program 'go'!"

"Great!"

"Alright!"

"Got it, Mallow!"

Mallow giggled as Bounsweet hopped onto her shoulder. "I can't wait! So tomorrow's party is ON!"

"Nice. Ash will definitely love it and it will be a great way to help Shane break out of his shell." Sai said encouragingly.

"YEAH!" The five students cheered together.

* * *

The next morning found Ash and Shane running at full speed towards the school.

"We're late! We're late!" Ash cried. "No, we might make it if we really push! Hurry, guys!"

The two dashed through the front gate, only to stumble in surprise as they tripped a pair of confetti cannons just out of sight. They had barely slowed to a stop before Popplio jumped at them, blowing a balloon right in their faces. The water balloon popped, knocking Ash on his rear and nearly causing Shane to fall over on top of Blade, but the Servine pushed his Trainer back on his feet with his vines before he could get squashed. Pikachu, the lucky mouse, was clear of any danger of getting squashed, and simply stared at his Trainer in concern.

"That got a bigger reaction than I was expecting." Sai chuckled.

"What was that?" Ash asked, Shane and Blade helping him to his feet as their smiling classmates appeared from behind the school gate.

"Alola Surprise!" The girls exclaimed in unison.

"Hey, guys." Ash greeted.

"Did we surprise you?" Kiawe asked.

"You bet." Ash replied. "But why? What's up?"

"Well," Mallow said, "first off, we decided today would be the perfect day to have a surprise welcome party for you."

"That's cool. But what about Sai? He didn't get any cool surprise?" Ash asked, looking at his older rival sympathetically.

"Hey, I'm getting paid to be an assistant teacher, that's the only gift I need." Sai explained.

"And that was just your first surprise!" Mallow said.

"First one?" Ash asked.

"Next," Sophocles replied, dramatically pointing at the foreign Trainers while holding his spherical partner. "Togedemaru and I want to challenge you! I'm sure you must know what I mean by that."

"Challenge? You mean a Pokémon battle, right?" Ash clarified, getting excited. Shane remained silent, simply staring at the shorter boy in confusion, even as Ash spoke. "Alright, Sophocles, I accept your challenge! Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu declared excitedly.

Upon seeing the truth, however, he and Ash deflated. Sophocles and Togedemaru stood proudly by a large pile of party balloons, with two other piles set up in a line next to them. The young tech wizard had his arms crossed, smiling confidently.

"Pika...?"

"Balloons...?" Ash asked, baffled.

"Right! Balloons!" Mallow excitedly explained, gesturing with her arm. "Whichever team pops all the balloons first wins the game!"

Ash and Pikachu held flat expressions, utterly put out. Shane raised a skeptical brow, tilting his head slightly.

"Oh yeah, Pokémon or Trainer, it doesn't matter who pops the balloons." Mallow added.

"Balloons...pop them first..." Ash muttered, as Pikachu cracked a small, but terrifying narrow-eyed grin. Suddenly, Ash pumped his fist in the air, re-energized. "That'll be a piece of cake!"

Shane looked at the grass snake on his shoulder. "Shouldn't be hard for us, right?"

"Vine, servine." Blade replied, shrugging.

With that settled, the three teams took their positions several feet away from their balloon piles.

"Ready!" Kiawe announced, raising a hand as the competitors tensed. "GO!"

On cue, the duos dashed to their respective piles, getting to work immediately. Ash and Shane quickly found a problem though, as both tried to simply squash the balloons between their hands, which proved difficult. Pikachu and Blade tried their teeth, with about as much success. After a few seconds, they each popped their balloons, but a much quicker set of pops caught their attention.

Sophocles was simply pressing his balloons against Togedemaru's extended spikes. "Here! Okay, next!" The boy encouraged, continuously popping the balloons at a casual pace that nonetheless left the foreign trainers in the dust.

"You can do it, Ash and Pikachu!" Lana cheered.

"Go for it, Shane and Blade!" Mallow encouraged.

"Maybe you didn't know? You can use Pokémon moves!" Lillie said.

"Really?" Ash asked. "That's cool. 'Kay, Pikachu, let's pop all the balloons with Thunderbolt!"

"Pika!" The mouse confirmed, giving up on a balloon he held.

Sophocles silently smirked.

"Alright then, time to shine! Let's steal the show with Leaf Blade!" Shane commanded, standing back as Blade's tail began to glow green. The Servine promptly jumped forward, flipping backwards to burst several balloons with a rising slash, before curling up and somersaulting forward to pop several more, leaving a full line of empty space dividing their balloon pile.

As Blade rose with his first slash, Pikachu was in the air firing off his Thunderbolt.

"Alright, this is our chance!" Sophocles exclaimed, turning towards Team Ash. Togedemaru readied itself, extending its spikes and straightening its tail-needle. Ash and Pikachu were naturally surprised when their Thunderbolt swerved off-course, crashing into Togedemaru instead. With the Alolan native charged up, Sophocles made his next command. "Togedemaru, Zing Zap! Let's go!"

"Ma-RUUUUUUU!" It complied, jumping into the balloon pit and spinning rapidly to burst through its balloons.

At the same time as Sophocles, Shane made his own command. "Blade, vine spin, go!"

"Vine!" He confirmed, balancing on one foot with his still-glowing tail extended and using his vines to spin around, slicing through the balloons rapidly in a long, speedy pirouette.

"Hey, what's all that about?" Ash asked Sophocles.

"Here's the deal: Togedemaru's ability is Lightning Rod!" Sophocles explained. "It absorbs all Electric-type attacks, then it releases that stored electricity as its move. Isn't that great, Ash?"

"Wow, Togedemaru really rocks!"

"'Scuse me!" Kiawe said. "This is no time to be impressed."

"YES!" Shane suddenly cheered, getting the group's attention. The students were shocked to see Shane's pit was empty of balloons, a still-spinning Servine leaping out and landing on his Trainer's shoulder as the glow on his tail faded. Blade bowed triumphantly just as Togedemaru popped its own final balloon.

"What?!" Sophocles exclaimed. "No way!"

"The surprise game winners are Blade and Shane!" Mallow announced cheerfully.

"Not bad, Shane. Putting those coordinator skills of yours to good work." Sai complimented.

"Toge?" Togedemaru looked up in confusion.

Sophocles stared for a moment, but recovered, smiling at Togedemaru as he picked it up. "You were great! We didn't win, but at least we finished."

"We didn't even finish." Ash admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"Pika..." Pikachu added, hopping on Ash's shoulder.

"Ash, Shane?" Lana called, getting their attention as she walked up with Popplio in her arms. "Ready for your third surprise? It's a challenge against us!"

The group cheerfully moved on to next event, unaware of a stalker in a distant tree. Tapu Koko watched the students prepare for their competition, focused intently on Ash.

"A Pokémon Aquathlon is a competitive sport where you run and then swim!" Mallow explained. "Now let's see who wins it!"

And with that, the race began. Immediately, Pikachu took the lead with Blade on his tail, Popplio lagging behind.

"Pikachu! Win it, buddy!" Ash cheered.

"You can do it, Blade!" Shane encouraged.

"Good luck to all of you! Pikachu, Popplio, and Blade!" Sophocles yelled.

Until they hit the water, Blade had started to lose distance between himself and Pikachu, but soon after Pikachu hit the water, Blade caught up, overtaking the mouse with surprising speed as their Trainers ran along the bank beside them.

"That's great! Head for the finish line!" Ash instructed.

"You've got this now, Blade! You can do it!" Shane cheered.

"Let's see how easy it is." Kiawe quietly commented with a smirk, just as Popplio dove into the water. In a matter of seconds, the sea lion Pokémon overtook its competition completely, much to their surprise.

"You're almost there, Popplio!" Lana cheered, running past Ash and Shane only seconds before Popplio burst out of the water, landing directly on the finish line with style. The blue Water-type clapped its flippers in happiness as Lana crouched by it. "I'm proud of you! Great, Popplio! You're amazing."

Ash and Shane stared as Lana began petting Popplio.

"Popplio can swim at speeds of up to twenty-five miles per hour." Lillie explained, walking up behind the awestruck students. "Quite impressive."

"Yeah, you were always in the middle ground for this one, buddy." Sai told Shane. "Snakes are slower than mice on land, but faster than sea lions, but in the water, it's the reverse, but the snake stays in second place. Still, you hung in there. Definitely a good try."

"Thanks. I actually didn't know that. I thought we'd come in last for sure." Shane admitted.

Pikachu and Blade climbed out of the water, Pikachu shaking himself off. Both found towels draped over them, causing them to look up in surprise.

"Great, Pikachu! You rocked it!" Ash complimented, rubbing Pikachu's head.

"C'mere, Blade. You did well." Shane said as he set about drying the Servine off.

"You're so fast, Popplio!" Mallow complimented.

"Yeah, I can't believe how fast Popplio can move!" Ash said, holding a freshly-dried Pikachu.

"Popplio, pop pop pop!" The little sea lion replied happily, waving a flipper as Kiawe walked over.

"Your fourth surprise is competing against me." He stated. "What do you say?"

* * *

A short time later, Ash, Kiawe, and Shane were riding Tauros in a race around a simple track, coincidentally the same place both of the new students first entered the school grounds. Kiawe and Ash virtually neck-and-neck, Kiawe having a slight but notable lead on the Kantonian with Shane lagging a few feet behind them.

As the students, Sai, and their Pokémon cheered the racers on, Professor Kukui watched from above in the classroom balcony, holding Rockruff gently in one arm. Rockruff barked happily as Principal Oak joined Kukui in watching the students race.

"Wow, look at them Rapidash!" The principal said.

"Everyone decided to have a welcoming surprise party for Ash, Pikachu, Shane, and Servine." Kukui explained.

"Music to my ears, Eevee-dently!" Oak replied, imitating Eevee. "Buizely! Xerneastic!"

"The Cross Chop of friendship is always a critical hit, don't you think?"

A beat of silence passed before Principal Oak spoke again.

"Professor, you are going to take part in the festivities, right?" He asked.

"For sure. Very soon. Right, Rockruff?" Kukui replied.

"Rockruff!" The puppy Pokémon happily confirmed.

"The truth of it is, I'm the fifth surprise." Kukui said.

"You are? Now I see!"

* * *

Back on the track, the students were in the final stretch, with Ash pulling ahead of Kiawe by a small margin, only for the older boy to overtake him again, just in time to cross the finish line.

"It was a tight race, but Kiawe wins!" Mallow announced, the two Tauros slowing down to a walk as Shane crossed the finish line.

"Man, and to think I was so close!" Ash said as his Tauros stopped.

"You rode pretty well." Kiawe admitted as Ash dismounted.

"Thanks, Tauros. You're awesome." Ash complimented, petting the bull. It mooed gratefully.

"Pika!" Pikachu called, getting Ash's attention as Shane stepped off his own Tauros.

"Thanks for cheering me on, buddy." Ash said.

"Sorry we didn't win." Shane apologized, petting the Tauros he'd ridden. It was indifferent.

"Don't worry, Shane. If you'd like, I could train you to ride a Tauros and soon enough, you'll make them look like amateurs." Sai offered.

"I could definitely use the help." Shane replied gratefully.

"Ser!" Blade called, jumping on his Trainer's shoulder. Shane chuckled softly, petting the Servine's head with a finger until he noticed Kukui walking up behind Ash with Rockruff held gently in one arm. Pikachu noticed the professor as well, alerting Ash to his presence.

"Professor Kukui! Hey, Rockruff." Ash greeted.

"You're now looking at your fifth surprise!" Kukui said. "If Pikachu agrees, let's have a Pokémon Battle!"

"Whoa!" Ash whispered as Pikachu leapt onto his shoulder. "A Pokémon Battle? And against Professor Kukui?! All right! This is the best surprise of all!" He excitedly declared.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"And Shane." Kukui added, looking at the Unovan as he walked up next to Ash. "If Blade's up for it, I'd like you to show me your moves in a Contest Battle!"

"You bet!" Shane replied, adjusting his hat with a grin.

"Vine!" The grass snake agreed.

"Before that," Mallow said, putting her hand up in front of the foreign students. "I'm the poster girl for my family's restaurant, so that means that I'm gonna prepare us all a little lunch!"

"Lunch time?" Ash asked softly. "Come to think of it, I'm starving..."

Suddenly, everyone else also became acutely aware of how hungry they were.

"Yeah…" Kiawe added as the other Alolans moaned.

"We kinda skipped breakfast this morning..." Shane admitted, slumping.

"You should never battle on an empty stomach. You don't think straight when you're hungry." Sai informed the class.

* * *

Elsewhere on campus, a few minutes later...

"Lunch is served!" Mallow cheerfully announced, holding two enormous plates of food in one hand each. The green-haired girl set one upon the table for her human classmates, and placed the other on the floor for their Pokémon partners. "Here. Eat up, everyone!"

"Yummy?" Lana asked Popplio as the Pokémon dug into the food. Popplio barked happily in reply, causing Lana to smile. "I'm glad."

"You know what?" Mallow said as she took her seat between Lillie and Lana. "I followed your Pokémon food recipe to a T!" She informed Lillie.

"It's very tasty, but it's also healthy Pokémon food." Lillie stated.

"It's hard to balance those two, but you did an awesome job." Sai complimented as he ate.

"Delish!" Ash remarked, chowing down.

"Yeah, it's good." Kiawe said.

"Mallow's restaurant's good." Sophocles added. "I don't like to eat anyplace else!"

Ash turned back the food, but before he could take another bite, a loud, familiar screech rang out across the school campus. Shane and Sai exchanged looks. They'd only heard it briefly, but the voice was unmistakable. "Well, looks like it isn't done with Ash just yet." Sai noted.

"A little over twelve hours." Shane quietly remarked. "That's a new record."

"Hear that, guys?" Ash asked, standing up and turning around. He took a few steps away from the table, only for Tapu Koko to drop down nearly nose-to-nose with the Kantonian.

Ash blinked rapidly for a second. Then, startled, he cried out, stepping backwards as the guardian's sudden appearance registered. All present were awed, save the two Unovans.

"Melemele's Island Guardian, Tapu Koko!" Lillie exclaimed.

"What a sight!" Mallow commented.

"Beautiful!" Lana added.

Ash, meanwhile, blinked once more before approaching the deity.

"It's great to see you." Ash greeted. The Kantonian raised his arm, showing Tapu Koko the Z-Ring. "I didn't get a chance to say 'thank you' for the ring. So thank you!"

Tapu Koko tilted its head with a lengthy chirp, then suddenly vanished, startling. In a blur of motion behind Ash, it swiped the boy's hat, then repeatedly blurred in and out of existence. No one present, not even the Pokemon, could track the guardian as it zipped about. The deity briefly dropped Ash's hat upon Pikachu's head, blinding and disturbing the mouse, before retrieving it and circling the humans whilst wearing the boy's hat upon its own crest.

"It's so fast, I can't see it!" Ash exclaimed, voicing everyone's thoughts.

Tapu Koko then ceased its vanishing act, appearing in front of Ash for a moment, and slowly- at least for the guardian- heading towards the forest.

"Hey! My hat!" Ash called out, chasing after the divine hat thief with Pikachu at his side, the rest of the class following shortly as they shook off their shock.

They followed Tapu Koko into the woods, barely keeping track of Ash and Pikachu. For some reason, Tapu Koko never strayed from the main path of the forest, and despite its speed, did not take advantage of the slight hurdle of a large fallen tree to lose Ash and Pikachu, who athletically hopped over it with determination. Following just behind them were Blade and Sai, who somersaulted over wooden obstacle, followed quite quickly by Shane, who settled for simply vaulting over it.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ash called out to the guardian.

"Ash, slow down!" Shane yelled after the younger Trainer, taking a moment to glance back at the others and see that they were keeping up before continuing on.

"You can't just run off like that! That crazy Bewear might still be around here!" Sai shouted after the boy.

Kiawe and Popplio hopped atop the fallen tree with little issue, followed by the slightly slower Mallow and Lana, the latter of whom Popplio waited for. Once Lana cleared the tree, Popplio hopped into her arms. Though Kukui had no issue with the tree himself, Sophocles was another story.

"Just a...little...farther!" Kukui encouraged, trying to pull the boy over as Togedemaru pushed its Trainer from the back, with Lillie sitting daintily off to the side. Finally, Sophocles made it over the tree, nearly squishing Rockruff, though the puppy hopped aside. Kukui took a moment to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Finally, further ahead, Ash stopped. Tapu Koko had completely vanished from sight.

"Where is it?" He asked, looking around as Sai, Shane, and Blade caught up. "Where'd it go?"

Suddenly, Tapu Koko dropped down in front of Ash again, dropping his hat upon its rightful wearer's head before zipping back a few feet in a zig-zag pattern. The guardian raised an arm, positioning it as if it were a shield.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ash asked it as the rest of the class caught up. "I think you mean you want to have a battle with me?"

"A battle?" Kiawe asked.

"So his fifth surprise isn't me. Guess it's Tapu Koko instead." Kukui remarked.

"I've read about this sort of thing once before." Lillie stated, catching Kukui's interest. "It said Tapu Koko is a very curious Pokémon. Long ago, it would challenge the Islanders to a Pokémon Battle, and Alolan Sumo too!"

"Alright, you've got yourself a deal!" Ash said. "Let's have a battle now!"

"A battle with a legendary. Impressive. That's a big deal, even for me." Sai stated.

Tapu Koko screeched as rings of electricity traveled from its body to the surrounding forest, turning the land yellow.

"That's Electric Terrain..." Kukui noted.

"Hey, Ash!" Lillie yelled, drawing Ash's attention. "Electric-type moves become more powerful while Electric Terrain is in effect!"

"That's lucky for us, alright!" Ash said, grinning as he turned back to the divine Pokémon. "We're ready!"

Tapu Koko began by rushing at Pikachu, tackling the mouse with speed neither he nor Ash could react to and sending him rolling. Pikachu got up with a bit of trouble, shakily standing on all fours as he looked up at his Legendary foe. The guardian surrounded itself with a dazzling glow before rushing Pikachu again.

"Down, Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

At the last second, Pikachu ducked under the guardian's attack, evading it by mere centimeters. Despite missing, the divine Pokémon's move tore up the ground, continuing onward for several feet before ending. As Tapu Koko looked back at Pikachu, Ash decided to take the offensive.

"Now, let's show them all what we can do! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu leapt into the air, his tail covered in electricity and his cheeks sparking, before he fired his signature move at Tapu Koko. It seemingly landed a direct hit, causing an orb of light and wind it to appear around the Legendary Pokémon.

"Awesome!" Ash commented as Pikachu landed, both confident the attack dealt damage.

But then the orb around Tapu Koko vanished to reveal the guardian unharmed. The only sign the attack landed at all was the vapor around the Pokémon's body, which dissipated. Tapu Koko simply stared down at Ash and Pikachu.

"Pika?!"

"It didn't do a thing!" Ash exclaimed, surprised.

"Tapu Koko's just too strong." Kiawe stated, sweating a bit.

"It must be an Electric-Type." Sai deduced.

Suddenly, Tapu Koko rushed directly at Ash. Panicking, the Kantonian crossed his arms in front of his face. Shane took a step forward, but didn't go any further as Tapu Koko abruptly stopped in front of Ash, then touched the Electrium Z with a claw. Just like the previous night, the Z-Crystal began to glow. Ash opened his eyes, his posture relaxing as he realized Tapu Koko wasn't trying to hurt him, then looked at the ring on his wrist.

"You mean..." Ash whispered, staring at the guardian. "You want me to use it? The Z-Ring...and Electrium Z?"

"Tapu Kokoooooooo!"

"I have no idea how to do it, but I'll try!" Ash said, dramatically swinging his arm back before lowering it. "'Kay Pikachu, let's show our Z-Move!"

"Pika!" The mouse affirmed excitedly.

"Oh, Ash..." Mallow muttered in concern.

"Can they do it?" Sophocles quietly wondered.

"It's Ash." Shane replied. "My only concern is that forest might not be intact after this."

"I'll have to get Virizion and Celebi to fix the damage later." Sai said, groaning.

Ash crossed his arms again, with Pikachu flawlessly mimicking the motion as the crystal's glow intensified. Imitating Tapu Koko, Ash and Pikachu waved their arms in a circular motion, then held them out in front, left over right as Sai had done for his own moves. Deviating from Sai's poses, Ash and Pikachu slid their left feet back, shifting dirt as they lowered their arms, then swung their left arms to the right before swinging them back, and finally shifting their arms into a pose that imitated a lightning bolt, with their left arms as the top and right as the bottom tips of the bolt.

"Go, Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

"Pika..." Pikachu quietly responded, repeating the syllable as he instinctively guided his electricity into a ball of lightning in front of him.

"Here we go!" Ash said as he and Pikachu, in perfect synchronization, pulled back their right fists. "Full...power...NOW!"

With a final shout from both of the Kantonians, Pikachu's fist connected with the ball of lightning. Gritting his teeth, the electric mouse launched it at Tapu Koko, to the surprise and awe of the Alolan natives.

"The Electric-type Z-Move!" Kiawe exclaimed.

"That's Gigavolt Havoc! Wow!" Kukui added.

"Good-bye, forest!" Shane quietly quipped.

"Brace for impact!" Sai warned, releasing a Steelix and taking cover behind it.

Gigavolt Havoc tore across the ground, barreling towards Tapu Koko. Unseen to all others, just a moment before impact, Tapu Koko's expression shifted ever so slightly. Upon connecting with the guardian, the Z-Move detonated, causing incredible winds that nearly tossed away Ash, Pikachu, and the spectators. Everyone shielded their faces, struggling to keep themselves anchored. Besides Ash, all those with partner Pokémon clung to them protectively. A beam of lightning shot into the sky, visible across the entire island, and when it dissipated, a massive dust cloud followed, though the latter didn't reach the same height. At long last, the storm of the Z-Move subsided.

"That's a Z-Move?!" Ash muttered, opening one eye. "Oh man..."

Suddenly, Ash heard a shattering sound as the Electrium Z disintegrated. On the ground, Pikachu panted from exhaustion, though neither the mouse nor anyone else could tell if it was the Z-Move itself or the storm upon impact that drained him so much. The dust in the eye of storm settled, revealing Tapu Koko's enclosed form levitating over a massive crater. The guardian parted its mask, revealing that it had shielded itself, and was unharmed.

"What's going on?" Ash asked as Tapu Koko non-aggressively floated out of the crater.

With a final screech, Melemele's guardian vanished into the sky.

"Tapu Koko...wow." Ash commented.

"Ash!" Mallow called out, getting Ash's attention as she ran up to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He replied.

"That's incredible!" Mallow said. "I can't believe how strong you and Pikachu are!"

"Well, uh..." Ash muttered, rubbing his head with his left hand as Kiawe walked up. The older boy couldn't help noticing an oddity with Ash's Z-Ring.

"What happened to your Z-Crystal?" He asked, causing Ash and Mallow to look at the crystal slot. "It...it disintegrated." Kiawe deduced. At Ash's confused look, he clarified, "That means it's too soon for you to use Z-Moves. You haven't had an Island Challenge Trial yet."

Ash's gaze fell to the ground for a moment. Then, he looked back up at Kiawe.

"Alright, I'll take the Island Challenge Trial!" The Kantonian declared, to the surprise of most of the party. "I'll pass the trial, then I'll get another Z-Crystal, and then I'll be able to use Z-Moves the right way!"

"That makes sense." Kukui said, smiling.

"Sounds perfect!" Mallow cheerfully commented. "We'll all be cheering for you! Right gang?"

"Okay!" Lana replied, Popplio cheerfully agreeing.

"Of course we will!" Lillie added.

"Togedemaru and I know lots about Electric types! Yeah, tons of stuff!" Sophocles stated.

Ash and Mallow looked at Kiawe expectantly, though the boy said nothing.

"Please?" Ash pleaded.

"Come on!" Mallow said.

Kiawe sighed. "I have to. After all, I'm the only student with a Z-Ring."

"And I am a teacher now, I guess I should teach you what you need to learn." Sai added.

Pikachu squeaked, getting Ash's attention before hopping up on his Trainer's shoulder.

"Don't forget me." Shane said, walking over to Ash with Blade on his shoulder. "I don't have a Z-Ring yet, and I doubt an Island Guardian will just give me one, but I can still take the trials, right?"

"I remember you saying something like that yesterday." Kukui replied. "You want to get a Z-Ring too?"

"As long as it's not an issue for foreigners." Shane said. "You know, _besides_ the ones literally chosen by Legendary Pokémon."

"As far as I know, it's fine." Kukui stated.

"Yeah. That won't be a problem." Sai confirmed.

"Then I hope you'll all cheer me on, too." Shane said.

"Of course!" The three girls replied in unison.

"Always." Sai agreed.

"It's only fair." Kiawe added.

"That's awesome!" Ash exclaimed. "Thanks, guys!"

Ash, Shane, and their partners have found a new goal in the Alola region while Sai settles into his new role as an assistant teacher. Along with getting to know their new Pokémon School friends, our heroes have taken a big step forward on their new adventure as the journey continues.

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**Late, as usual. Entirely on me, but hey, at least it only took three months instead, say, a year or so. Consider this a somewhat belated holiday present. Happy New Year, everybody!**

**My New Year's resolution is getting the next two chapters out in less than a month. It won't be easy, but I shall do my best. Eventually, I'll have to reach such speeds. One day, I will be worthy...**

**Once again, very special thanks to Sai Kunai Blade. While there is significantly less of him in this chapter, he still contributed a great deal, and, once again, this story would not exist without him.**


	3. The Gang's All Here!

The next morning, breakfast came with an exciting surprise for one of our heroes.

Ash sat at the table in Kukui's house as Pikachu and Rockruff chowed down on a shared bowl of Pokémon food, Professor Kukui having left a moment ago to retrieve something.

"Time to eat!" Ash declared for himself, readying his spoon.

"Ash!" The professor's voice stole the boy's attention from his food. Professor Kukui walked up, holding out an oddly-shaped but familiar-looking red device. "A present for you!"

"A present? What is it?" Ash asked.

"It's a PokéDex!" Kukui informed.

"Whoa!" Ash replied, excitedly accepting it with both hands. "A PokéDex!"

"Now, let's activate it!"

* * *

In the basement, Ash stood patiently behind Kukui with Pikachu on his shoulder and Rockruff beside him as the professor ran diagnostics on the 'Dex via his computer.

"Perfect!" The professor exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "We're all connected!"

Suddenly, the lights and monitors flickered, unnerving Rockruff and confusing Ash.

"Here it comes!" Kukui excitedly stated.

"What?" Ash asked. As the lights continued to flicker, an odd sound could be heard. Rockruff whimpered, drawing closer to Ash with its tail between its legs. "What's going on?"

"Just watch, and you'll see!" The professor replied.

Just then, something came out of a nearby light socket. It zipped about rapidly, difficult to see until it startled Ash and Pikachu into falling over. Ash landed on his rear, keeping the PokéDex secure. Pikachu fell on his back, but stood up quickly and joined Rockruff in trying to keep up with the newcomer that was zipping about.

"It's a Rotom!" Ash realized.

"Now we just have to wait for Rotom to go inside." Kukui said.

"Go inside?" Ash asked, standing up. "The PokéDex?"

As if on cue, Rotom dived into the device, causing it to glow brightly for moment. When the glow faded, Rockruff whimpered curiously.

"Is Rotom... in there?" Ash wondered, looking the device over. He light knocked on the device, then held it up to his ear like a phone, then shook it a bit. "Hey, Rotom?"

As Ash stared at the PokéDex, a green line suddenly ran across the screen, forming a partial heart in the center of the screen and zig-zagging at the sides.

"What's that?" The boy asked.

Then, Rotom's eyes appeared on the device, slowly opening. Ash, understandably startled again, fumbled with the 'Dex before dropping it. It never hit the ground, instead floating up in of Ash as the screen lit up. A smirk appeared on the screen as spike protruded from the top of the PokéDex. It then grew oddly-shaped arms and a pair of feet, though without visible legs.

"Whoa! The PokéDex is Rotom and Rotom's the PokéDex!" Ash brilliantly observed.

The Pokévice's screen changed to show a Poké Ball symbol with several other lines around it, all spinning at different speeds in different directions. It looked at Rockruff, then Pikachu, then Ash as Pikachu hopped up on his shoulder.

"Alola, Rotom!" Ash greeted, waving his hand.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu added, waving a paw.

"Language selection complete." The haunted PokéDex informed.

"Wow, Rotom just talked!"

"Rotom, please lend Ash a Helping Hand from now on, okay?" Kukui instructed.

"Understood!" Rotom replied, turning back to Ash. "Ash. User registration complete! PokéDex now booting up."

The Poké Ball symbol was replaced by a counter that rapidly rose from zero to one hundred.

"One hundred percent." Rotom informed. The possessed PokéDex twirled as it levitated a few inches backward. "Alola! Nice to meet you, Ash!"

"Wow, we can even have a conversation?" Ash asked.

"Of course." The Pokévice replied, taking a moment to bow in a gentlemanly manner. "RotomDex is equipped with an assortment of languages! I have been programmed to communicate properly with people of all different kinds!"

"Awesome!"

"'Awesome!' ... Does not compute. Does not compute!" Rotom said, a confused emoticon popping up on its screen surrounded by question marks as it held its head.

"Ash was just saying he's very impressed with your capabilities." Kukui clarified.

"I understand!" It replied. "So 'awesome' means 'excellent'! And that means RotomDex is _excellent_!"

Kukui laughed as the Pokévice flashed a happy emoticon on its screen in a hands-on-hips pose. "Believe it or not, I'm a professor! Professor Kukui!"

"Pleased to meet you, Professor Kukui! And you too, Ash!" RotomDex said.

"Hey, thanks!" Ash replied. "And this is my friend Pikachu!"

"Pikachu!" The mouse added, raising a paw.

"Ash and Pikachu are staying at my place, along with Rockruff." Kukui informed.

"Rock! Ruff!" The rock puppy added.

"Pleased to meet you, Pikachu! And Rockruff!" RotomDex replied. It then turned around, tapping something on its screen. As Ash and Pikachu stared in confusion, Rotom floated over to Rockruff and tapped it's screen again, before levitating back up and turning to face them. "Picture taken! Pikachu. Rockruff."

"So wait, why did you take a picture?" Ash asked as Rotom showed the photos of electric mouse and rock puppy.

"In order to add the images of the Pokémon I meet to my memory!" It replied. "The RotomDex is a self-learning PokéDex that updates its data each and every time it meets a new Pokémon!"

"Not sure what you mean." Ash said, scratching his nose. "But you're totally awesome, Rotom!"

"User Ash, I am not simply Rotom now!" The possessed PokéDex replied. "I am RotomDex, which means I am PokéDex; Rotom Version!"

"Hold on. PokéDex... Rotom... version?" Ash asked slowly, making stranger faces of confusion with each word. Pikachu sweatdropped. RotomDex made up for its lack of real sweat with an animated sweatdrop emoticon.

"Very well, you can simply call me RotomDex, User Ash!"

"And you can just call me Ash. That'll make it easier to say, won't it?"

"I understand, Ash!" RotomDex said, saluting.

"Hey, RotomDex?" Ash asked. "I wanna hear how you describe Pikachu in the RotomDex. Can you do that?"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Right away, Ash!" The Dexmon replied, pulling up an image of a Pikachu. "Pikachu, the mouse Pokémon! An Electric-type. It raises its tail to sense its surroundings. If you pull on its tail..." RotomDex paused its explanation to float over to Pikachu and grab his tail like a true genius. "...it will bite!"

In a brilliant move, Rotom yanked Pikachu's tail, getting itself and Ash fried by Pikachu's instinctive Thunderbolt. Kukui's attempt to help resulted in the professor getting zapped as well.

"IT DOESN'T BITE YOU! IT ACTUALLY SHOCKS YOOOOOOOUUUUU!" Rotom corrected.

* * *

As Rotom demonstrated intellect beyond any other being, a certain trio of troublemakers made their grand entrance to Alola via airplane, dressed as tourists.

"At last, the Alola region." A red-headed woman quietly said.

"This great and distant land gives us a brand-new start for both the body and mind!" A blue-haired man added.

"We're gonna do everything for the greatest boss in all of bossland!" A very short male with a distinct but totally mysterious silhouette said.

"Wooobbuffeeet!" A well-dressed, also totally mysterious figure added.

* * *

_"In the Alola region, many rare Pokémon can be found."_

_Wobbuffet, Jessie, James, and Meowth stood at attention. Giovanni was seated with his back to a screen displaying a shot of an Alolan island as he briefed our favorite villains. The images of four Alolan Pokémon popped up on the screen one at a time. Meowth, however, tuned out the "greatest boss in all of bossland" to think impolitely at his rival for said boss's affections._

_'Alright Persian, you pompous jerk. Go ahead and enjoy sittin' happily on the boss's lap while you can. I'M gonna become number one!' The feline smirked as he imagined himself on Giovanni's lap in Persian's place. 'Then you know what you can do? You can just try the floor for a change, chump!'_

_"Now go and collect Pokémon the likes of which I've never seen before! Fulfill the ambitions of Team Rocket!" Giovanni commanded as Meowth tuned back in._

_"Roger!/Wobbu!" The quartet responded._

* * *

"Catching Pokémon..." Jessie said, pulling her shades up.

"...and conquering Alola!" James added, pushing his own up.

"Ha-cha-cha!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Sai was accompanying Shane as he attempted to catch some Alolan Pokémon, before putting a hand to his head as if he had a headache. "I don't know why, but I feel like we're going to be very annoyed in the future." The assistant professor said.

Shane and Blade looked at the older Unovan as question marks blinked over their heads.

* * *

Elsewhere on the island, the bizarre Bewear was walking through the woods. It briefly stopped to glance at a small Pokemon that bore an uncanny resemblance to a Pikachu, though upon close inspection it was clearly no mouse. The two Pokemon stared at each other for a moment before ignoring each other, Bewear walking on as the not-Pikachu brooded creepily.

* * *

Outside the Pokemon School, Principle Oak's Komala lay in a palm tree. As a Litten walked up to said tree, Komala yawned. Observing the palm tree's resident, Litten yawned as well, then began licking its paw.

As the little feline bathed itself, the shadow of a Pidgeot passed over it, heading right to the classroom. Inside, the bird Pokémon landed, revealing that it carried the Unovan duo, who promptly dismounted.

"I can't believe we didn't see a SINGLE wild Pokémon." Sai grumbled.

"To be fair, we didn't have much time." Shane replied, feeding Altius a Pokébean and petting him. "We'll probably have more luck after school. Less of a time limit and everyone will be more awake."

"Alola!" Seven voices caught the duo's attention. Turning, they saw the rest of the students, plus RotomDex, had all arrived before them. The Dexmon floated over to Altius, then turned around and took a picture.

"Pidgeot, the Bird Pokémon. It can fly at speeds of up to Mach two. By flapping its wings with full force, it can create a gust of wind capable of bending tall trees."

Shane blinked at the Pokévice, utterly baffled, as Ash walked over, getting Rotom's attention.

"Rotom, these are Shane and Sai. Shane's a student like me, and Sai's the assistant teacher to Professor Kukui." Ash explained, then turned to his human friends. "Guys, this here is RotomDex! Professor Kukui gave it to me this morning!"

"Nice to meet you!" RotomDex exclaimed.

"Uh... pleasure." Shane replied. "So, some kind of PokéDex with a Rotom inside? Incredible..."

"Yeah. Technology never ceases to amaze me." Sai agreed.

"Incredible... incredible means...awesome!" Rotom figured. "In other words, RotomDex is awesome!" It posed proudly with a smile emoticon popping up on its screen.

"...Sure." Shane said to it. "_I'm not sure if it's endearing or annoying_. Maybe you were right." He whispered, loud enough for Sai to hear, but not the others.

"So it's obviously learned how Ash talks." Sophocles observed. "I wonder just how this RotomDex is programmed!"

The short boy brandished a screwdriver in a menacing manner, disturbing RotomDex greatly. Rotom floated backwards as Sophocles leaned toward it.

"I'm going to analyze your programming for juuuuust a second, alright?" The tech wizard 'requested'.

"No, thank you!" RotomDex replied, visibly nervous even without an emoticon.

"Aw, come on! Don't be like that, please. Just a look!" Sophocles pleaded, attempting to lean further toward the Dexmon, only for Shane to pull him back.

"Or you could just ask about the programming, instead of scaring Rotom out of its wits." Shane suggested, tugging the back of the shorter boy's shirt.

"Yeah, seriously, the Rotoms are rare, but they mass produce the PokéDexes, you can get your own and take it apart to your hearts content." Sai added.

"Oh, a RotomDex!" Principal Oak's voice caught everyone's attention as the principal walked up alongside Professor Kukui. "Well, you seem to have quite an interesting item there!"

"Principal Oak!" Ash said, before turning to RotomDex. "This is the principal of the Pokémon School, Principal Oak."

"Pleased to meet you!" The Pokévice greeted, floating up to the man and bowing like a gentleman.

"Hi hi, Psyduck, _Arrrrboooook_!" Samson replied, imitating the Pokémon he named.

"What is 'hi, hi, Psyduck, Arbok'?" RotomDex asked. "Does not compute. Does not compute."

With a flash of light, Sai's Regice materialized once more.

"Ice Beam on my feet. Again." Sai commanded simply as his eyebrow twitched. Though still hesitant, it complied and froze its Trainer's feet.

Everyone sweatdropped at this, but Mallow was the first to recover. "Don't worry about it." She told RotomDex. "It's simply his way of saying hello. The principal is always making Pokémon gags."

"And Sai's not too fond of puns." Shane added, idly withdrawing Altius.

"I don't mind ALL puns. His are just awful." Sai clarified.

RotomDex didn't seem to hear the Unovans. "Making Pokémon... gags?" It questioned, before repeating "hi hi Psyduck Arbok" several times with increasing speed as Pokémon silhouettes flashed on its screen.

"That's excellent." Oak praised. "I think you're getting the hang of it!"

"I'm not Dragonite down!" Rotom replied, causing Sai to growl and Shane to panic. "Matter of fact, I'm Clauncher-ing off, Inkay?" The genius continued as Shane released Reso. "Wooper-dee-doo!"

"We're too late to stop it..." Shane whispered, facepalming. The Lucario stared at his Trainer in concern.

"I really like the cut of your gibberish!" The principal replied. "So Wynaut hang with us for Mawhile?"

"Wooper-dee-doo!"

"Smile, Mawhile!"

"Dooper Wooper!"

"Mawhile is you!"

The pun-off was ended by the sound of ice shattering. Everyone turned to see the Sai, quite literally burning with rage as his hair stood on end, as red as his glowing eyes. "THAT'S IT! EVERYTHING DIES!" Sai roared.

"No, Sai, calm down!" Shane futilely pleaded as he and Reso tried to restrain the older Unovan. "Breathe! Happy place! HAPPY PLACE!"

Their efforts only resulted in them lighting their hands/paws on fire. The two proceeded to flail their hands/paws wildly like hummingbirds until they and Sai were frozen solid by Regice.

"This only delays the inevitable..." Sai growled dangerously, despite his mouth and the rest of his body being frozen.

The others stared for a moment longer before Kukui regained composure.

"All right class, for today, let's do some fieldwork! So, Ash, now that you've gotten yourself a RotomDex..." The professor snapped his fingers. "Let's catch a wild Pokémon!"

"Alright!" Ash replied excitedly. The rest of the students cheered up at this as well.

"Well, looks like you get another chance after all." Sai told Shane as the ice around the older Unovan's head melted.

"I absolutely adore fieldwork!" Mallow said.

"For Ash and Shane, the Alola Pokémon will be a new challenge." Kukui stated. "We have a Destiny Bond to help them out!"

"Destiny Bond, a Ghost-type move. When a Pokémon faints after using this move, the opponent that landed the knockout blow also faints!"

_'Definitely annoying.'_ The frozen-er popsicle mentally decided.

"You get one final pass, Kukui!" Sai snapped, having melted the ice from his upper body.

"RotomDex, that was excellent." Kukui praised.

"For Pokémon information, you can count on me!" The Dexmon replied.

"Let's go, RotomDex!" Ash said, putting his backpack on.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu added, taking his usual place on Ash's shoulder.

"Understood!" Rotom replied as it followed Ash out of the classroom, with the rest of the non-frosted students joining them.

"I like your Spiritomb!" Principle Oak said.

"_That does it_!" Sai shouted, shattering the ice around himself and rushing at the principal, but he was luckily restrained by both Darkrai and Mewtwo, who emerged from their Master Balls and held their Trainer with Psychic.

Reso then broke out of his own icy prison, picked the remaining popsicle up over his head, and dashed off after the rest of the students as Kukui and Samson stared at Mewtwo and Sai.

* * *

As the class prepared to venture into the woods, Team Rocket had already found their way there.

"Let's catch the first Pokemon, stat!" Jessie said.

"We'll snatch every Pokemon in the order we encounter them and then take it from there!" James added.

"Yeah, but then that means that Wobbuffet and I are gonna have to do all the heavy lifting..." Meowth complained.

"There's no other choice." Jessie replied. "We left all of our other Pokemon way back at Team Rocket headquarters, and you know it!"

"When you're in Alola, you simply do as the Alolans do!" James added.

Looking around as they walked, Jessie moaned a bit. "Even so, it's kind of creepy out here."

"You think?" James asked.

"Yes!" Jessie replied. She began stumbling about, waving her arms and making a creepy face. "It feels like something _scary_ could jump out at _any moment_!"

Just then, some tall grass at the base of a tree began rustling, getting the attention of the Team Rocket quartet. Something leapt out of the grass, startling them. They calmed down slightly as it landed revealing...

"Pikachu?" Jessie asked.

The Pokémon's head, or what looked like, then tilted to the side at an unnatural angle, terrifying Team Rocket. They screamed in horror, Jessie and James clinging to each other as Meowth clung to Wobbuffet's head.

"I know it can't be, but could it be?!"

"Pikachu's head?!"

Meowth continued to scream for a moment, only to abruptly calm down as he took a better look at it, narrowing his eyes. "No." The feline said. "While giving it a closer inspection, it's a different Pokémon wearing a Pikachu-like thingy."

The other three calmed down as well, observing the new Pokemon.

"Upon closer inspection..." James said.

Just then, the head of the Pikachu-like thingy righted itself as the creature within chattered ominously. Meowth and Wobbuffet promptly began to freak out again, though much more quietly and with significantly more sweat.

"What in the world is wrong with you?" Jessie asked calmly as the two trembled.

The only response she got was Wobbuffet muttering fearfully as the fake Pikachu made eerie noises.

"Meowth, what is it saying?" James asked.

"This is a K-plus fic!" Meowth quietly replied. Jessie and James simply stared in confusion. "It's sayin' something SO scary, that it's better off you're kept in the dark!"

"Scary? It's not that scary. It's kind of cute." Jessie replied. "So, our very first job in the Alola region with be catching that cutie!" The redhead declared, grabbing Meowth. "Meowth, Fury Swipes, let's go!" she commanded, throwing the unfortunate feline at the rag-wearing creature.

Meowth screamed as he flew at the other Pokemon, but he regained composure in time to active the commanded attack. "Okay, desperate measures time!" He stated, flailing his claws wildly. Meowth landed on his feet behind the wild Pokemon, waiting for it to react, but nothing happened. "Fury Swipes didn't work?!"

"Kyukh. Khkyu."

"Will you knock off all of the scary talk?!" Meowth yelled. "Take off that Pikachu get-up and fight fair and square!" He demanded, jumping over to the not-mouse. The unfortunate feline lifted the cloth, only to scream in terror, stumble backwards, and faint.

The clothed Pokemon backed away, leaving Jessie and James room to get over to Meowth. The two humans took turns yelling Meowth's name as Jessie tried to shake him awake.

"Wake up, you fool!" James shouted.

"You weren't even attacked, mister heavy lifter!" Jessie added, continuing to shake the cat. Eventually, she dropped him and retrieved a bucket of water from out-of-sight, with James doing the same.

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" They shouted together, splashing the water all over Meowth's face and finally reviving him.

"_You lugs are drownin' me_!" He cried, hopping up and flailing.

"Welcome back!" James greeted. There was a brief silence, Wobbuffet quietly sighing as Meowth landed, before the trio joyfully shared a group hug.

"Meowth!" Jessie and James greeted the feline in unison.

"Aw, thanks, you guys, for bringing me back from that joint!" Meowth said.

"Bringing you back?" Jessie asked.

"When I tried to take that thing's mask off of my mug, I could see inside and then suddenly things got dark, and when I woke up I was walking in this super-duper-long tunnel!" Meowth explained, crying. "Then a really cute Gardevoir appeared!" He added, going heart-eyed. "And it was trying to get me to come along, see?" His eyes turned back to normal as he finished the tale with, "and then things got scary and I was falling deep into the pit of a _bad place..._!"

"A cute Gardevoir, you say?" James asked.

"Into a bad place? Hold on, do you mean-"

"It's true!" Meowth interrupted. "If you and James hadn't called me back from whatever you want to call it...it's all because of Bag Head!" He explained, pointing at the clothed creature.

The definitely-not-a-mouse quietly continued making creepy noises, unnerving the humans. Then, a nearby bush rustled, causing the quartet to hide as terror kicked their self-preservation instincts into overdrive.

Fortunately, rather than another creepy Pokémon, our heroes emerged from the bush, cheerfully exploring the forest together in the hopes of catching a wild Alolan Pokemon.

"I've got the feeling we'll run into a wild Pokémon really soon!" Ash said.

"Really?" Kiawe questioned.

"Well, I hope your prediction is right on the money!" Mallow said, turning to walk backwards so she could face Ash.

"Yeah." Sophocles added as he yawned, stretching mid-stride. "I'm tired from all this walking."

"The probability of meeting a Pokémon in this area is eighty-three point nine percent!" RotomDex stated.

Hidden in a bush, Team Rocket watched as the group walked along the path.

"The twerp and Pikachu in view!" Meowth whispered.

"And an assortment of others!" James quietly observed.

"Meaning what?" Jessie asked. Wobbuffet made to speak and likely blow their cover, but Jessie intercepted it and held its mouth closed. "Along with them comes a great chance! The chance to grab gobs of Alola Pokémon and that Pikachu at the same time and give them all to the boss!" She explained, topping it off with evil laughter that somehow failed to reach the ears of the heroes.

"I caught a good handful of Pokémon here during my first few days in Alola. I'm pretty sure Ash is right... For once." Sai's voice informed the students as he stepped into view as well.

This caused the trio of villains to shriek in fear. "It's that edgy twerp with all the Legendaries!" Meowth said fearfully.

"We'll never catch Pikachu and the other twerps' Pokémon with him around!" James said fearfully.

"But... If we play it right, we may just be able to nab ourselves some Legendaries!" Jessie said. The other two, quite naturally, glanced at her in bafflement and fear as she snickered villainously.

"Oy vey..."

"Do we really want try taking on trench-twerp when we don't even have a single Alolan Pokémon yet?"

"Come on, you two!" Jessie reprimanded. "The worst that can happen is we blast off like usual. It's never stopped us before, it won't stop us now!" She reasoned, finally convincing her teammates.

Just then, Ash took notice of the Pokémon that stole one of Meowth's lives.

"Over there!" He said.

"Pika pika?"

"Khkyu?" The mouse-imitation took notice of the group, turning to face them... and locking on to Pikachu.

"Pika." The real mouse voiced quietly.

The wild Pokémon trembled in rage as it stared at Pikachu.

"Looks like your feeling was right!" Mallow told Ash.

"A Pikachu? I don't think so." Lana observed.

"Mimikyu!" Lillie corrected excitedly. "I read about it in a book once! I think it's type is-"

"Wait!" Rotom interrupted. "Please leave the Pokémon descriptions to me! Mimikyu, the Disguise Pokémon. A Ghost and Fairy-type." the Dexmon said, turning away from Lillie and approaching the Mimikyu. "It wears a ragged head cover to look like a Pikachu, but little is know about this Pokémon. It's said that a scholar who once tried to look inside met his end."

"Met his end?!" Meowth echoed in the bush. He began crying, somehow still failing to alert the twerps. "I'm glad I'm still here kickin' and grinnin'!"

"Wait," James said. "That unusual PokéDex appears to be moving all by itself!" He observed, causing Meowth to stop crying and look again.

"That's weird." The feline said.

"'Kay." Ash said, readying for battle. "Alright, Pikachu, go and get Mimikyu!"

"Pikachu!" The electric mouse confirmed, excitedly hopping off his partner and getting into his battle stance.

"Um... Ash? That may be a bad idea. Mimikyu wear those rags to look like Pikachu because they're jealous of all the love Pikachu gets. In other words, most of them hate Pikachu." Sai cautioned.

"In that case, allow me." Shane said, walking to stand besides Ash. "I know you want to battle, but catching Mimikyu with Pikachu's help will only make it more resentful."

Ash and Pikachu looked reluctant, but relaxed and backed away, the latter returning to the former's shoulder. Shane took a moment to pet Pikachu in consolation before turning to Mimikyu and pulling out a Poké Ball.

"Go, Blade!" Shane called, throwing the ball. In a flash of light, the Servine materialized, ready for battle. "Alright, let's start this show with Leaf Blade!"

"Ser!" Blade confirmed, leaping into the air and somersaulting with his tail glowing green. The grass snake slammed his tail into the head of Mimikyu's disguise, then backflipped off. Though the head flattened, Mimikyu appeared unharmed, much to the shock of the students.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing here!" Kiawe commented.

"That's Mimikyu's ability, Disguise." Sai informed, getting everyone's attention, though Shane turned back to the battle quickly enough. "The rags allow it to shrug off the first attack that hits it, even if it's a Z-Move, but the catch is that it only works once per battle."

"So it's vulnerable now. Okay, Leaf Blade again!" Shane commanded.

"Vine!" The Servine confirmed, but before he could follow through, Mimikyu rushed up and caught the grass snake in a cloud of dust with Play Rough. The raggedy Pokémon pounded the Grass-type with its tail, then knocked him away. Blade rolled, recovering easily, but Mimikyu followed up with Shadow Claw, uppercutting the Servine and knocking him into the air, only to land hard on his back.

"I didn't expect it to be so strong." Shane admitted. "Blade, are you okay?"

"Ser!" The Servine replied as he slowly stood up, noticeably sweating as his tail drooped.

"Melee range is too dangerous right now. Use Giga Drain!" The teen ordered.

"Vine!" Blade confirmed, jumping into the air as he launched a green energy beam from his mouth. At the same time, Mimikyu also jumped into the air, firing a Shadow Ball. The attacks clashed, evenly matched for a moment, but then the Shadow Ball flew on, cancelling Giga Drain. It missed the Servine by centimeters as he flipped backward, the attack flying over the students' heads.

"Leech Seed!" Shane commanded.

Wordlessly, Blade spat a seed right under Mimikyu as the combatants landed, ensnaring the Disguise Pokémon.

"Excellent!" Shane praised, pumping a fist. "Now, use Coil!"

"Servine!" Blade confirmed, coiling up in place as best as he could. A purple beam of light swirled around him, then vanished as an orange aura channeled up the serpent's body. It was just in time, too, as Mimikyu dashed in to use Play Rough again in spite of the energy-draining vines in was wrapped it, hitting Blade just as he finished his move. The grass snake was knocked away, but recovered before he hit the ground, catching himself with his vines.

"Now, one more Leaf Blade!" Shane commanded.

"Ser!" The Servine confirmed. Mimikyu met the Leaf Blade mid-air with its own tail, surrounded in a purple, fiery aura. After a brief aerial struggle with their tails locked together, the two Pokémon pushed each other away, sliding on their feet as they landed.

"Way strong..." Sophocles commented.

"Affirmative." RotomDex agreed.

"Did you just see that?" Jessie asked her teammates in the bush. "What's it called? I think they called it Mimikyu."

"It appears quite the even match for the quiet twerp's Servine." James observed.

"That little snake beat Pikachu once back in Unova!" Meowth added. "If the big softie's been trainin' like his friends..."

"Well, we can't let the twerps catch that strong of a Pokémon!" Jessie said, grinning with razor-like teeth as she cackled quietly, her eyes gleaming.

Meowth glanced at Jessie, highly concerned and somewhat fearful.

Back with the heroes, Shane readied an empty Poké Ball, but before he could throw it, another one flew at Mimikyu from the side. The Ghost/Fairy-type easily swatted it away.

"Who-" Shane began to ask.

"Just a minute!" Jessie interrupted as she, Meowth, James, and Wobbuffet stepped into view one a time in front of Mimikyu.

"Alright, who are you?" Kiawe demanded.

Team Rocket suddenly posed with a partially-hollow R, silhouetted by a nearly blinding light behind them.

"Did someone ask something? We're here to find out!" Jessie said.

"Noble answers are what we're all about!" James added, throwing a blue rose at the heroes that somehow obscured the team.

"The beauty so radiant, the flowers and moon hide in shame!" Jessie spoke as she walked in half-silhouette, then spun around as she posed with a hand on her hip. "A single flower of evil in this fleeting world, Jessie!"

"The nobly heroic man of our times!" James said, also walking in half-shadow before flipping his hair, spinning, and posing with his arms folded. "The master of darkness fighting back against a tragic world! It's James."

"It's all for one and one for all!" Meowth said, marching in complete shadow until his charm gleamed, then backflipping thrice and posing in a three-point landing. "A glittering dark star that always shines bright! Dig it, while Meowth takes flight!"

"Team Rocket, let's fight!" Jessie and James declared in unison, backflipping in sync before posing back-to-back as an R symbol flashed behind them.

"That's right!" Meowth added, appearing on their left with his forepaws on his hips.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet added, saluting as it popped up on the duo's right.

"Team Rocket?" RotomDex asked. "Can they really take flight?"

"We blast off you dope!" Jessie snapped. "I mean...we _don't_ fly."

"You see, Team Rocket...is a super-powerful evil organization!" James added, posing with a blue rose.

"What kind of dumb PokéDex doesn't know a thing like that?" Meowth asked, shaking his head with a shrug.

RotomDex beeped as it tried to figure out Meowth. "I... don't have any data! A Meowth that can speak like a human!" It said, floating up to Meowth and rapidly taking pictures. "This could be the discovery of a new type of Pokémon!"

Meowth was quick to get fed up. "WILL YOU SHUT YOUR ELECTRIC YAP?!" He shouted, flailing wildly at Rotom until it flew back to the students and Sai.

"Okay, so, hold on." Shane remarked casually. "Jessie, you're going on about evil and beauty, which makes sense, but James, you're going on about heroism in tragedy and darkness, which I like, but it doesn't really apply to you, and Meowth, you're speaking in contradictions. 'A glittering dark star that always shines bright' is a _ridiculous_ oxymoron. Also, neither of you guys really brought up the sun in counterpart to Jessie, which kinda makes the whole thing feel a little incomplete."

"FINALLY! Someone besides me picks apart their motto!" Sai cheered with a smirk.

A beat of silence went by, before the trio's heads enlarged, tick marks appearing on their foreheads as...

"EXCUSE YOU?!" They demanded in unison, before returning to normal proportions.

"Since when did YOU get snide, softie?!" Jessie demanded, shaking a fist with a tick mark on it, too.

"Dishin' ain't a good look for you, cuddlebug!" Meowth added.

"I thought you of all twerps appreciated how hard we work on our mottos!" James reprimanded.

"Sai's rubbed off on me." Shane replied simply. "It helps that I've had a very stressful morning and _we're in the middle of trying to catch a wild Pokémon_. You know, the right way?"

"You know these guys, Shane?" Mallow asked as the rest of the Alolans stared in confusion.

"They're bad guys who like to steal other people's Pokémon!" Ash informed, turning to face her with an intense expression as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder. The mouse landed next to Blade, cheeks sparking as he glared.

"They steal?!" Mallow asked, clutching Bounsweet protectively.

"If they steal Pokémon, then they're _thieves_!" Sophocles accused, pointing at Team Rocket.

"You've come to the Alola region to do bad things here too, haven't you?!" Ash accused.

"Same old genius. I don't know why you three are here, but I'm sick of seeing your twerp-y faces!" Jessie replied, remarkably confident.

"We'll simply take your Servine, Pikachu, and all of your friends' Pokémon for our sassy selves!" James declared, pumping a fist.

"And...that Mimikyu!" Jessie added, glancing back at the Disguise Pokémon, who had just cut the vines from Blade's Leech Seed. "Remember WE found that one first!" She then turned back to the group with a hand on her hip. "Okay Meowth, go."

"Awww..." Meowth groaned, then shook it off, stepping towards Pikachu. "Word up, Pikachu! I know how strong you are! But today, I come out on top, no ifs, ands, or buts!" The feline declared, then leaped into the air, extending his glowing claws. "Fury Swipes!"

"Pikachu, Electric Ball!" Ash commanded. Pikachu promptly somersaulted into the air, charging an electric orb at his tail before flinging it at Meowth.

"Huh?! Couldn't you wait?!" Meowth yelled, flailing his claws as his panicked. The unfortunate feline was saved as a Shadow Ball flew up under him, deflecting the Electro Ball mere inches from Meowth. The cat and electric mouse then landed, with Mimikyu standing in front of Meowth, who looked rather touched by the gesture. "Mimikyu! You came through like champ. Thanks a lot, pal-y!"

"Call me crazy, but I get the strange feeling Mimikyu is trying to help us out!" Jessie said.

"Kyukhkhkh." Mimikyu replied, turning to look at Team Rocket.

"Huh?" Meowth vocalized. Mimikyu turned back to Pikachu, radiating a ghostly aura of purple flame as it continued speaking... and terrifying Meowth. "Whoa! Mimikyu wants to give us a hand instead of the chumps..."

"So I'm saying?!"

"We're truly grateful for all your help. Please explain!" James requested.

"Trench-twerp was right. Mimikyu HATES Pikachu!" Meowth clarified as Mimikyu trembled in rage and continued to speak. Eventually, Meowth couldn't bear to hear what the Alolan native was saying. "Do me a favor and don't say any more scary stuff, will ya PLEASE?!"

"Sounds like some complicated feelings at play." James said.

"So then, let's not look a gift Mimikyu in the mouth!" Jessie replied, smirking. "It's all good, Mimikyu, so just attack!"

Encouraged, Mimikyu began charging a Shadow Ball with every ounce of hatred it could muster.

"Here it comes, Pikachu!" Ash quietly warned.

"Now, be careful!" RotomDex added.

"Blade, use Coil again!" Shane commanded softly.

Pikachu tensed as Blade coiled up again.

"Way to go! You can do it! Rah-rah-rah!" Jessie and James cheered, to which Meowth sweatdropped.

The purple glow enveloped the Servine again, triggering the orange aura to rise upward around him. Mimikyu trembled as it focused its rage, while Jessie began to laugh evilly as James looked on with a smirk... only for a certain physical deity to sneak up on the human thieves and grab them underarm, cutting off their celebration and causing them to shout in surprise.

"What's going on?!" James demanded as Bewear turned around, carrying him and Jessie off. "Hey!"

"Hey, big guy, where are you schlepping my two buddies?! Jessie! James!" Meowth called after the bizarre Pokémon.

"...Beware the Bewear." Shane absent-mindedly quipped, blinking slowly.

"Mimikyu! Save Jessie and James! Move!" Meowth commanded the Disguise Pokémon. Mimikyu turned back to him, mumbling something, apparently a refusal. "But you told us you'd help us out if we were ever in a jam! Forget Pikachu. Right now, you've got to save the ones who are on YOUR side, dig it?!"

After a moment, Mimikyu canceled its Shadow Ball, letting Meowth pick it up and follow Bewear.

"Off... with a... new... blast...?!" Jessie and James cried, still struggling to get out of Bewear's grip as they vanished into the forest.

After a moment of staring after them, the heroes regained their senses.

"Of all the ways I expected this to go down... That wasn't one of them." Sai stated.

"Who WERE those guys?" Mallow asked, looking between the three foreign Trainers as Pikachu and Blade climbed up their respective partners' shoulders.

"We weren't able to catch it." Kiawe pointed out.

"Wish I could've." Shane said. "Besides really needing a Fairy-type, I'd have loved to help it get over that envy..."

"But that's okay!" Lillie replied cheerfully. "There are many, many other Pokémon in the Alola region!"

"There are lots more chances!" Lana added.

"That's right!" Ash said. "Okay, Pikachu, RotomDex! Let's go find some more Pokémon!"

"Pika!" Pikachu added as Ash took off into the forest.

"The probability of finding a Pokémon in this forest has increased to ninety-six point five percent!" Rotom stated, following after them.

As the rest of the students took off after them, Shane and Sai lagged behind for a moment as the younger Unovan fed his Servine a Pokébean.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about Bewear for a while." Shane stated optimistically.

"Exactly. Catching a Pokémon should be easy now." Sai told the younger Unovan. "And there's one now." He said, pointing to a Pikipek that was feeding on a berry on the forest floor.

"Well, that was quick." Shane said. He then grinned, pulling out a particular kind of Ball. "Speaking of quick...Go, Quick Ball!"

"Solid choice... if a bit anti-climactic." Sai noted.

The Pikipek didn't have time to react as the blue and yellow ball bounced off of it's head. The Alolan bird was encapsulated easily by a red beam of light, and the Quick Ball fell to the ground with the button blinking red as it shook.

First shake, the Trainers tensed.

Second shake, Shane leaned in. Startled Pokemon had a harder time breaking out...

Third shake... and Quick Balls had been pretty reliable, but would his first Alolan catch really-

_Click!_

-be so abrupt?

"Wow, that was fast." Sai stated, impressed.

While Shane blinked, his Servine zipped over to the Quick Ball and retrieved it with his vines, then offered it up to his Trainer. Shane took the Ball, then smiled. It was sudden and rather easy, but it was a new friend and a victory nonetheless.

"Alright!" Shane cheered, spinning the ball on a finger. He then tossed it up, then caught it as he spun around once and held it out in a victory pose. "Our first Alolan Pokémon...is Pikipek!"

"Ser-Servine!" Blade added, jumping up beside his Trainer.

"Congrats, buddy." Sai congratulated, giving a thumbs up.

With RotomDex joining our heroes, and Team Rocket arriving in Alola, the gang's all here. Nobody knows what else lies in store, but one thing's for sure. The journey in Alola has only just begun!

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**This came out pretty fast by my standards. One chapter down, one more to go to fulfill my resolution, and I've three in-progress that may fulfill it. Starting Monday, I'm gonna get really busy, especially since I recently got Pokemon Sword, but giving up is not my style. Hope you all enjoyed, and once again, special thanks to Sai Kunai Blade for helping plan and write this chapter.**


	4. A Ketchum-Style Catch! Birds and Bros!

The Unovan duo had started walking, intending to catch up with the rest of the students, when their attention was drawn skyward by the sound of Flying-Type Pokémon chirping and tweeting. The two found the source to be a flock of Pikipek led by a Pokémon Shane guessed to be their evolved form, with an owl-like Pokémon that had green tail feathers lagging behind them. The bird Pokémon flew over the town, before descending rapidly.

"I assume those are wild Pokémon, so why are they flying into town?" Shane asked.

"It's about this time of year that Pikipek flocks start gathering food." Sai explained. "The locals believe nature's abundance should be shared freely, so they basically give away some berries to the Pikipek. It's only around once a year that it happens, so everyone's usually fine."

Before the two could discuss further, they were drawn back to the forest by a scream. The two shared a glance, then took off, rushing toward the source. By the time the Unovans arrived, they found Ash holding an injured Pikachu, with the rest of the students gathered around concernedly.

"Confirming damage. Confirming damage!" RotomDex informed.

"I'm so sorry!" Lillie cried.

"I'll take you to the Pokémon Center!" Mallow offered.

"What happened?" Shane asked.

"We had a little trouble tryin' to catch Grubbin." Ash explained, before turning to the girls. "A Pokémon Center would great, so lead the way, Mallow. And don't you worry, Lillie."

"And Ash, we'll go back to school and tell Kukui what happened, all right?" Kiawe said.

"Thanks, Kiawe!" Ash replied.

"I think I'll go with you to the Pokémon Center." Shane said, before turning to Sai. "I know we'll be giving up the chance to find new Pokémon today, but I'd like to get Blade healed up myself, and to get to know my new teammate."

"I'd say that's for the best." Sai agreed.

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest, Team Rocket was stuck in a precarious situation. Bewear had brought them to its home, in the space under a large tree where it slept and stored food. The Strong Arm Pokémon walked around just a few feet away from the entrance, which to the villains, seemed like a patrol route. The four Team Rocket members sat upon a bed of leaves and twigs, and off to the side was a large pile of berries. Mimikyu, still wild, stood at the entrance, simply staring into the forest… and occasionally batting away Poké Balls Jessie threw at it. James was meticulously polishing something spherical while Meowth and Wobbuffet watched Jessie fail at catching a Disguise Pokémon.

"This time, for sure…!" Jessie quietly declared, determinedly throwing another ball at Mimikyu… only for it to bat it away just as easily as always. Neglecting to pull out another ball, Jessie leaned forward and tried to reason with the 'mon. "Look, Mimikyu! _You're_ the one that wanted to help us, so _let me catch you_!"

"It's kinda weird," Meowth remarked. "You'd think Mimikyu would be tuckered out from battlin' the quiet twerp's Servine, but it ain't tired one bit."

"Wobbuffet."

"Don't you get that I'm trying to catch that Mimikyu because _you guys can't beat that Bewear_?!" Jessie explained irritably. "If we don't get out of here quick, we're going end up on that Bewear's snack down schedule!"

"Snack down?!" James parroted, dropping the Ball he'd been polishing as he, along with Meowth and Wobbuffet, promptly freaked out. Jessie, however, took note of what her teammate dropped.

"A Luxury Ball?" the redhead observed, picking it up. "Ha. Perfect timing!"

"Not that!" James protested, weakly reaching for it only to get pushed down by his teammate. "It's part of my precious collection!"

"Your collection? It's valuable…" Jessie replied, winding up to throw it at Mimikyu. "When someone uses it!"

"Don't do it!" James pleaded, grabbing Jessie's arm to stop her. "Anything but that!"

"TURN IT DOWN!" Jessie snapped, shaking him off and throwing the ball at Mimikyu.

Strangely, Mimikyu noticed, but made no attempt to evade capture this time, and was encapsulated comfortably. Team Rocket screamed as the Luxury Ball fell to the ground, though each of their screams carried a different emotion.

"Direct hit!" Jessie announced.

The ball shook once, the trio staring in tense anticipation.

The ball shook twice, and James vaguely hoped Mimikyu would break out.

On the third shake, the team unconsciously, unanimously held their breath.

_Click!_

"I caught it!" Jessie exclaimed.

"It's part of the family! Yay!" Meowth cheered.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet added, also cheering.

"My poor collection!" James cried, sobbing to himself.

Triumphantly giggling, Jessie walked over to the Luxury Ball and reached down for it, only for Bewear to grab her wrist. Jessie slowly turned her gaze upward to face the Strong Arm Pokémon, and found its somewhat darkened face terrifying. The redhead screamed as the absurdly powerful Pokémon picked her up.

"Get your big paws off me!" Jessie cried as Bewear walked over to the others, holding her underarm.

"Bewear, Bewear," the pink bear replied.

"Bewear says 'time to strap on the ol' feed bag'!" Meowth translated in terror.

"Jessie's not a bag!" James protested as Bewear dropped the redhead on the bed.

"You've got to come out and save us, Mimikyu!" Jessie called to the Luxury Ball. "Mimikyu! Mimiky-"

Jessie was cut off by Bewear dripping some sort of sweet-tasting, yellow substance into her mouth from a leafy plate. Confusedly, the redhead consumed it, and was consequently overcome with bliss.

"What is that?" She asked. "Yummy! _Delicious!_ Richer than rich!"

"Dat's nummy honey nectar!" Meowth realized, opening his mouth wide as Bewear offered him some. "Sweets for the sweet!"

James was next. "What a succulent taste!"

Then, finally, Wobbuffet got some, and all four members of the team were overcome with bliss, and declared, in perfect sync:

"Succulent doesn't begin to describe it!"

* * *

"Welcome to the Melemele Island Pokémon Center!" Nurse Joy cheerfully greeted, flanked by Blissey and a Pokémon neither Ash nor Shane had seen before.

It was a small, round, light green Pokémon with an orange face and a fluffy green crest that curled slightly over its face and extended backwards. A ring of flowers was attached to its back by one end of a blue thread, the other held in its stubby arms.

"We really need your help, Nurse Joy," Ash said as Rotom snapped a picture of Blissey.

Pikachu and Blade were laid out on a stretcher, Pikachu laying near the foot on his front and trying not to move, while Blade lay across the pillow on his back, with one arm on his chest, one leg sticking into the air, and his tongue hanging out of his mouth melodramatically.

"Don't worry. Pikachu and Servine will be all better in no time," Nurse Joy assured. She then turned to the Happiness Pokémon beside her. "All right, Blissey."

Its command received, Blissey wheeled the mouse and snake through a door for treatment.

"You're Servine's got a bit of a drama problem, doesn't it?" Sai asked with a chuckle as a second Blissey wheeled away his Skarmory, which the assistant-professor had used to ward off a few tougher wild Pokémon, such as a Hariyama.

Skarmory looked down at the overdramatic Servine. "Skar..." It said, shaking its head.

"Comes with the territory. You don't get to be a movie star or a Coordinator's MVP without a flair for the dramatic," Shane replied, placing his hands on his hips with a smirk. It quickly faltered as he began scratching his head. "Though, I admit he didn't really go full ham until he evolved. I'm... not sure if it's his personality, or something he picked up from me."

With that, Rotom decided that was the time to exposit.

"The Pokémon Center is where you can heal your Pokémon, restore its strength, and treat any status conditions!", the haunted 'Dex explained. It then took a picture of Nurse Joy, then a Machamp and Machoke. "Updating Nurse Joy. Updating info."

"Hey, RotomDex. That Pokémon, who is it?", Ash asked, drawing Rotom's attention to the small Pokémon, its flower ring now flowing behind it like a tail as it carried a small bag of medicine down the hallway.

"Let's see!", the Dexmon replied, scanning it. "Comfey, the Posy Picker Pokémon! A Fairy-type. It releases a relaxing scent from the flowers it picks. The scent has a healing effect and can cure status conditions."

Comfey, having completed its task, flew over to Ash and dropped its flowers around his neck, having made a lei out of them. Ash relaxed, enjoying the scent.

"Sounds like the perfect assistant for Nurse Joy," Shane commented.

"Blissey's perfect too!", Mallow added.

"A correct assessment!", RotomDex added, loading Blissey's PokéDex entry. "Blissey, the Happiness Pokémon. A Normal-type. When it senses someone sad with its fur, it will rush over, no matter how far, and share its Lucky Egg that brings a smile to everyone!"

"Yep. Together, they're a great team for even the oddballs in the Joy family." Sai agreed.

Shane groaned, remembering an encounter with an oddball in the Kantonian branch of the family.

* * *

A short time later, as the group sat around a table enjoying refreshments, Mallow spoke up.

"So, Shane. You're a Battle Trainer, a Coordinator, and an actor?", the green-haired girl asked. "What don't you do?"

"Anything else, really," Shane replied, rubbing the back of his head. "And I don't do a lot of movies these days. My focus is on battles, since that's where I started, but I love contests too. You have to be flashy and creative, which is fun and great for movies. Plus, I love showing off my Pokémon, and it's just really fun overall."

"Sounds like it!" Mallow said. "That explains why you were able to win the balloon challenge during the party the other day."

"Yeah," Shane confirmed. "But to be honest, even though I may be a bit more adaptable, I'd say Ash and Sai are way better battlers than me. I've still got a long way to go."

"Hey, c'mon, don't say things like that!" Ash said. "You're an awesome Trainer! You won the Unova League, remember?"

"He's right, Shane. You're definitely better than you give yourself credit for. You've even given some of my Legendaries a run for their money." Sai added approvingly.

Shane's only reply was a blush and a nervous chuckle.

It was then that Nurse Joy and Blissey came over with Pikachu and Blade's stretcher, the two foreign Pokémon standing strong and proud.

"I'm happy to say Pikachu and Servine are fully healed!" the healer informed.

"Pika!"

"Vine!"

Ash and Shane stood up to receive their energized partners, Ash still holding his drink while Shane left his behind. Pikachu leapt directly onto Ash's shoulder, squeaking cheerfully and nearly making Ash spill his beverage, while Blade jumped into Shane's waiting arms for a hug, before slithering up and hanging himself around his Trainer's neck.

"Glad you're back, Pikachu, Blade!" Mallow greeted.

Bounsweet greeted the foreign Pokémon, who replied in kind to the Alolans. A few seconds later, Sai's Skarmory was returned as well.

"Skarmory's in excellent condition as well," Nurse Joy declared.

"Glad to hear it. Feeling better, old friend?" Sai asked the Armor Bird Pokémon.

"Skarmory!" The steel bird declared happily.

Shane began petting his partner as RotomDex floated over behind Pikachu. "A test!", the brilliant Ghost-type declared, tugging on Pikachu's tail and receiving a well-earned dose of electricity alongside the far-less-deserving Ash. The others jumped back, staring at the electrifying scene in shock.

"Are we SURE that thing is the latest and greatest technology available?" Sai questioned.

"I'M pretty sure it's annoying..." Shane muttered.

After a moment, the electricity let up, revealing a slightly static-y Ash and a thoroughly blackened RotomDex.

"Full recovery confirmed!" the ditzy 'Dex announced. "Next, Servine!"

Shane held Rotom back with a finger as a fiery aura surrounded him. In that moment, the Pokévice saw the teen standing in front of an active volcano.

"Don't," Shane said calmly, his eyes hidden in the shadow of his hat as lava slowly seeped out of the volcano behind him.

RotomDex loudly gulped, despite being a haunted machine, and backed off. Blade looked up at his Trainer with a sweatdrop. RotomDex looked at Skarmory, FOR ONCE hesitating before it decided whether or not to mess with the Armor Bird Pokémon. However, that decision was made for it.

"Skar!" Skarmory cried out, its wings glowing as it gave them one mighty flap, sending projectiles of wind that almost looked like saw blades at RotomDex with Air Slash.

"That's Skarmory's NICE way of telling you to back off." Sai warned the PokéDex.

* * *

The next day, after school, the foreign Trainers visited Mallow's family restaurant. The four were seated at a table on the porch, with Ash, Sai and Shane enjoying a meal alongside Pikachu, Skarmory, and Blade respectively, plus Shane's recently-acquired Pikipek.

"Today's the day!" Ash declared, before taking a bite out of his food. "I'm catching a Pokémon. That's for sure!"

"Pika!" Pikachu enthusiastically agreed, pumping a fist.

"I hope you don't mind if we join you," Shane said. "As much as I want to get acquainted with Pikipek, I also want to see if we can still catch Mimikyu. I don't want a Pokémon like that winding up in Team Rocket's hands."

"Smart. Team Rocket could actually be dangerous with that Pokémon," Sai agreed. "And there's nothing wrong with catching a good bundle of Pokémon and getting to know them all together. That's what I've always done."

"Yeah, and it'll be way more fun if we're all catchin' Pokémon together!" Ash declared.

"The current Pokémon encounter rate in the forest behind the Pokémon School is eighty-nine percent!" RotomDex informed.

"That just might work!" Mallow said. "The forest is where I first came across Bounsweet."

"Bounsweet!" the berry-like Pokémon added, flapping its leaves in joy and unleashing a Sweet Scent wave.

The move sent the other Pokémon at the table into a momentary bliss...and caught the attention of a certain leafy-feathered owl.

Said owl looked around for the source of the scent until it spotted Bounsweet. Mistaking it for a berry, the flying Pokémon loudly trilled as it dive-bombed Mallow's partner. Unfortunately for the featherbrain, the party's Pokémon heard it coming and Bounsweet repelled it by spinning its leaves, countering the bird's kick and knocking it away.

The humans were quite naturally surprised by this exchange.

"Hey! Who's that Pokémon?" Ash asked, alarmed.

"Leave it to me!" Rotom said, scanning the newcomer. "Rowlet, the Grass Quill Pokémon. A Grass and Flying-Type. It stores energy during the day from photosynthesis. It swoops down without making a sound and unleashes a powerful kick without being noticed!"

Demonstrating Rotom's point perfectly, Rowlet got rejected by Bounsweet again just as the Dexmon finished explaining.

"Rowlet's also the Grass-Type Starter around Alola," Sai added. "It would've been my choice if I started in Alola. But, I caught one on my own anyway. It's fully evolved into Decidueye now."

"Um, about that not-being-noticed thing..." Shane said, sweatdropping.

"However, there is no doubt that Bounsweet noticed," Rotom said, turning back to Rowlet with its own sweatdrop. "And Rowlet met with a strong defense instead of unleashing its so-called powerful kick."

"Because Bounsweet's used to it!" Mallow explained.

"Bounsweet's used to it?" Ash parroted.

"You see, Bounsweet's scent is-"

"Wait," Rotom interrupted Mallow. "Allow me to explain the rest! Bounsweet, the Fruit Pokémon. A Grass-Type. It's always emitting a delicious scent from its body."

Punctuating Rotom's explanation, Bounsweet used Sweet Scent again, affecting Ash and Pikachu.

"Lured by its scent, many flying Pokémon mistake it for a berry."

Rowlet's loud trilling alerted the group to its next action.

"Here we go again," the Unovans muttered in unison. Pikachu, Blade, and Pikipek sweatdropped as Rowlet once again was repelled by Bounsweet, knocking the bird into a power line, where it hung by its foot.

"Skar..." Skarmory sighed, shaking its head.

"Maybe that Rowlet's really hungry," Ash guessed.

"Pika-Pika!", Pikachu shouted in concern, drawing the group's attention to Rowlet as it dropped from the power line.

"Mory!", Skarmory cried, taking off at high speeds and quickly managing to catch Rowlet, slowly flying back down to us and gently releasing the Pokémon into Ash's arms.

"Great work, Skarmory," Sai said, feeding it a rainbow Pokébean.

* * *

A short time later, Rowlet awoke, laid on Ash's nylon backpack.

"Are you okay?", Ash asked as Rowlet sat up. The bird seemed a bit groggy, but not seriously injured. "Thank goodness."

Rowlet stood up and tilted its face- somehow, not its head, as far as the humans could tell- then realized how comfortable the backpack it was standing on was. The owl hopped upon the comfortable surface, before taking note of the bowl of sliced fruit behind it, flapping over, and chowing down with nearly unmatched vigor.

"Talk about an appetite," Ash commented, peeling a banana.

"The amount of food and the speed that it eats it incredible!" Rotom added.

"Pika..."

"Vine..."

"Want this, too?" Ash offered, holding out the banana and getting Rowlet's attention. The owl took note, and flapped over to him, gripping his arm tightly as it munched on the fruit, to the Kantonian's mild discomfort. "Man, you've got a strong grip!"

Just as Rowlet finished the banana, Shane's Pikipek fluttered over and landed on a step, greeting the owl cheerfully. Rowlet responded in kind, and the bird Pokémon began chattering animatedly.

A short time later, as Pikipek spoke to Blade and Pikachu, Rowlet finished its meal.

"Did you like it?" Ash asked. Rowlet purred, content. "That's great. Glad you're happy," Ash said, reaching down to pet it. "Whoa, you're so soft!"

Upon Pikipek finishing, Shane bent down to pick up Blade, who translated the Pokémon conversation for him.

"Sounds like they're pretty tight," the teen commented.

"What's up?" Mallow asked as she placed a watermelon in the empty food bowl.

"From the sounds of it, Rowlet and my new Pikipek are part of the same flock," Shane explained. "They were supposed to gather berries yesterday, but Rowlet brought home a wind chime, so it was sent back out to get some actual food."

"It's rare, but Pokémon do sometimes take in other species into their flocks or families. Heck, my Meloetta used to live with a family of Bellossom." Sai explained, chuckling at the memory.

Ash, having missed the conversation due to Rowlet's softness, pulled out a Poké Ball.

"Hey, Rowlet," Ash quietly began, "is it okay if I catch ya?"

Just as Ash began to ask, however, Rowlet remembered its goal again, grabbed the watermelon with its talons, and began flying back to the forest.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ash called after it.

Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder as RotomDex hovered over, holding his backpack.

"Are you going to catch it?" Rotom asked as the rest of the group walked over.

"You bet!", Ash answered. "Let's go!"

"Right!", the others replied as the group ran after Rowlet, Pikipek and Skarmory easily flying after it and catching up.

* * *

The heroes followed the Flying-Types through the forest until Rowlet and Pikipek dove out of sight, Skarmory touching down and waiting for the others. The Trainers and the rest of their Pokemon stopped atop a cliff that overlooked what seemed like a massive web of roots, branches, and vines.

"There it is! Over there!", Ash exclaimed, pointing.

The others followed his gaze, spotting Rowlet upon a tower of nests across the mossy web before them. The owl was blushing as a bigger bird much like Pikipek patted it's back with a wing, evidently praising it, while an even bigger toucan-like Pokemon sitting in a slightly higher nest spoke with a Pikipek. Upon hearing Ash, Rowlet waved its wings cheerfully in greeting. However, the bigger birds glared at the group in distrust.

"Here's where I come in!" RotomDex declared, floating over to the Pikipek and snapping a photo before scanning them. "Pikipek, the Wood Pecker Pokemon. A Normal and Flying-Type. It can unleash 16 pecks per second to drill a hole into a tree, where it stores food."

The Pokevice moved on to the bigger bird, who stood beside Rowlet. "Trumbeak, the Bugle Beak Pokemon, and the evolved form of Pikipek. It attacks its opponents by firing seeds stored in its beak."

The living 'Dex then snapped and scanned the biggest bird in the flock. "Toucannon, the Cannon Pokemon, and the evolved form of Trumbeak. Its beak heats up to 200 degrees, and its peck can inflict a serious Burn!"

Naturally, being an UNFATHOMABLE GENIUS, Rotom promptly decided to test the temperature of Toucannon's beak, completely disregarding its apparent conversation with Pikipek.

"We probably SHOULD help him, but I don't want to. He's earned whatever he gets at this point," Sai stated.

Shane nodded silently.

"What's this? It's not hot at all!" Rotom announced, pressing on the big bird's beak repeatedly with both arms from different angles. "That's strange," the intellectual Ghost-Type muttered, oblivious to Toucannon's rising temper until its beak heated up enough to burn him, whereupon the BRILLIANT 'Dexmon fluttered about, waving his arms in pain.

"Wow," Ash remarked as Rowlet flew up to him and dove into his backpack. "I had no idea you had so many awesome friends!"

"You were so caught up in Rowlet's softness that you missed our conversation, huh?" Shane asked teasingly as his Pikipek fluttered over and perched on his shoulder. "I seem to recall that getting distracted by cute Pokémon is MY thing, not yours."

Ash chuckled, scratching his head with an embarrassed smile.

Before anything else could happen, a large net suddenly ensnared the wild Pikipek, who cried out in fear. Another net soon caught Trumbeak and Toucannon despite their Bullet Seed counterattack.

"What's going on?!" Ash yelled, caught off-guard.

"Pika!" Pikachu added as he hopped down, cheeks sparking.

"What do you think?" Shane answered, glaring at a set of silhouettes to the heroes' left across the mossy web.

Sai let out a sigh of annoyance. "Nope. Shutting this down right now," he declared, nodding to Skarmory.

Three of the silhouettes suddenly posed with a partially-hollow R.

"Did someone ask something? We're here to find out!"

"Noble answers are what we're all about!"

The totally mysterious blue-haired silhouette threw his rose, but it was promptly sliced apart by Skarmory's Air Slash, as was the rest of the stock footage of their motto. The pieces of James' rose and the animation frame depicting Team Rocket's silhouetted pose fluttered to the ground at their feet, much to the trio's shock, horror, and anger as tick marks appeared on their foreheads.

"HEY!" Jessie snapped, dropping her net-launcher. "Who gave you the right to interrupt our motto?!"

"The authors." Sai and Shane casually answered in unison.

"First you mock our motto, and now you won't even let us finish it?! Don't you know how important the motto IS to us?!" James demanded.

"I'm sorry..." Shane started.

"We don't give a flock," Sai finished.

"Team Rocket!" Ash snapped. "Let Pikipek and the others go!"

"Sorry, but the twerp loses again!" Jessie replied, picking up the rope of her net launcher alongside as James grabbed the one from his. "They shoplifted Bewear's food, and that's a no-no!"

"And we're here to take it back!" James added. "That way, we can pay it back!"

"Wobbu!"

"I go boom!" Meowth declared, firing his own net-launcher to grab the flock's berries.

"And we're going to give your Pikachu as a perfect present for the boss!" Jessie declared, drawing a Luxury Ball. "Take it away, Mimikyu!" She commanded, throwing the ball and indeed revealing the Mimikyu from yesterday, who materialized about five feet away from Pikachu. "Mimikyu! Take care of them the way you know how!"

Pikachu tensed as Mimikyu leapt into the air, charging a Shadow Ball, but it wasn't Ash's voice that gave the next command.

"Use Mirror Move!"

"Piki! Pek!"

Mimikyu's Shadow Ball met another, and the two spheres detonated uselessly.

"Rowlet," Ash whispered. "Now's your chance to save your friends!"

Rowlet chirped, then flew up.

"Alright, Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu flipped into the air as his tail began to glow, then spun around and smacked the face of Mimikyu's disguise, only to be shocked as Mimikyu recovered effortlessly.

"Pikipek, pull Pikachu back!" Shane commanded, stepping beside Ash. "Ash, remember Mimikyu's Disguise ability? It ignored THAT Iron Tail, but another one will hurt it."

Shane's Pikipek grabbed Pikachu and pulled him away from Mimikyu, letting him go once he was in front of Ash before landing beside the mouse. Meanwhile, Rowlet flew over to the captured Pikipek and, with a single swipe of its glowing talons, sliced through the net and freed them, to which the little birds began cheering.

"Rowlet cut through that rope with just one kick!" RotomDex remarked as the wild Pikipek flew off.

James yelped. "What happened?!" He cried.

"It's one of them?!" Meowth exclaimed.

"Mimikyu, quick! Attack one more time!" Jessie ordered.

"Skarmory! Protect Pikachu and Pikipek!" Sai ordered.

"Skar!" Skarmory complied, dive-bombing and landing in between its allies and Mimikyu, who assaulted the Armored Bird Pokémon with Play Rough rather than its intended targets.

"Skarmory, no!" Ash cried.

"Sai, why would you do that!?" Shane demanded.

"Look," Sai instructed.

The group looked back as Mimikyu was landing several blows on Skarmory, who didn't even seem to acknowledge the attack, until it finally clamped down on Mimikyu's tail and threw it into the air.

"Oh, I get it! Fairy-Type moves aren't very effective on Steel-Types!" Mallow realized.

"But Steel-Type moves are super effective on Fairy-Types! Skarmory, Steel Wing!" Sai ordered.

"Skar!" Skarmory confirmed, its wings glowing as it flew towards Mimikyu and slammed its wing into the Ghost/Fairy-Type, sending it to the ground, significantly weakened.

James gasped.

"Mimikyu!" Jessie cried.

Just then, Rowlet finally cut the net holding Toucannon and Trumbeak, freeing them.

Mimikyu shakily stood up. Its eyes gleamed as it leapt into the air, readying a Shadow Ball.

"Steel Wing again!"

"Pikipek, Mirror Move!"

Copying Skarmory's Steel Wing, Pikipek flew alongside the Steel bird. The two separated, then flew by Mimikyu at upwards angles from opposite directions, knocking the Ghost/Fairy-Type higher into the air and cancelling its move. It was then that Rowlet leapt into action, using a move neither Ash nor Shane had seen. Glowing green leaves followed by high-speed wind surrounded the spinning Disguise Pokémon, keeping it suspended as a few leaves buffeted it. Despite the incredible damage, however, Mimikyu managed to ready another Shadow Ball.

"Finish it off with Iron Tail, Pikachu!"

Pikachu leapt up after his "doppelganger", spinning around as his tail glowed, before spinning the other way and slamming it into the Disguise Pokémon, sending it flying into Jessie, who was knocked into Wobbuffet, who was caught by a suddenly-appearing Bewear along with Jessie and Mimikyu. Bewear then grabbed James and Meowth and began walking away, to the bafflement of all.

"Bewear again?!" Team Rocket exclaimed in unison.

"Cool your jets, bub!" Jessie said. "We're just trying to pay you back for the food and shelter you gave us!"

"Bewear, Bewear." The absurdly powerful Pokémon replied.

"Off with a new blast..."

"Wobbuffet..."

With that, Bewear and everyone's favorite villains vanished into the forest.

"They're all gone..." Mallow said.

"Yeah," Ash added, rubbing the back of his head.

"Not quite as satisfying as a blast-off, honestly," Shane commented.

"Yeah, I miss sending them flying," Sai agreed.

"Pika..."

While the humans and non-bird Pokémon recovered from Bewear's oddness, the Pikipek flock gathered around Rowlet and Shane's Pikipek, chirping brightly. Trumbeak tackle-hugged Rowlet, patting the owl's back proudly. Toucannon, meanwhile, nuzzled Pikipek. The two birds were soaring on pride and joy, even as they blushed over all the attention.

"They look so happy," Ash said.

"It's wonderful," Mallow added.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"Not to mention adorable!" Shane chipped in.

"It's nice to see a family spending time together," Sai noted.

Ash then walked over to the cheering flock.

"Rowlet?" He called, getting the owl's attention. Rowlet flew up and over to the Kantonian, perching itself on his shoulder. "Rowlet, thanks. You were awesome back there!"

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu added.

"That was a powerful kick!" RotomDex complimented, to which Rowlet preened proudly, a small blush returning to its face.

After a moment of letting Rowlet enjoy the praise, Ash crouched, holding his arm out to let Rowlet off. Both Rowlet and Pikachu got down from Ash's shoulders and looked up at the boy in confusion as he stood back up.

"Okay guys, let's go home," Ash said, turning back to the group. Mallow and Rotom were visibly confused, but Shane smiled.

"Going home?" Rotom parroted. "I thought you were going to catch Rowlet."

"It's okay," Ash replied as he walked by the Alolans.

"Ash, are you sure?" Mallow asked.

"Does not compute," Rotom added.

"Thing is," Ash started, "Rowlet has a lot of friends. Look at them! They're a family!"

Ash couldn't see it, but Rowlet was clearly saddened. Toucannon, however, seemed certain of something.

"So it's all fine," The Kantonian finished, then began walking again. Rotom and Pikachu began to follow, as did Mallow after a moment of hesitation, but the Unovans didn't move.

"You never did look at the big picture," Sai told the Kanto trainer.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, stopping to look back the assistant teacher.

"You're doing what YOU think is right, but did it occur to you what ROWLET thinks? Because it looks to me like it wants to go with you," the multi-region champion explained. The owl Pokémon cooed in agreement, drawing Ash's attention.

"Really? You want to come with me, Rowlet?" He asked. "What about your friends?"

Rowlet turned to face Toucannon as Pikipek hovered over beside the former, the two young birds looking at their parent hopefully.

"Cannon," Toucannon said softly, nodding. After sharing a glance, the two took flight, quickly perching on the shoulders of their chosen Trainer, where they cooed in content as the rest of the flock began cheerful farewells, waving their wings and chirping at their siblings.

"I was hoping you'd choose to stay," Shane said, petting the woodpecker gently.

"You really do want to come with me?" Ash asked, to which Rowlet rubbed up against his cheek. The boy was momentarily overcome by the softness of Rowlet's feathers.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu commented.

"Unbelievable!" Rotom exclaimed.

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed as Rowlet fluttered off of his shoulder. The boy held out an arm, which Rowlet quickly perched on. "I really wanted you to be with me as well, Rowlet!"

Rowlet then took flight again, hovering in front of Ash expectantly.

"What's Rowlet doing?" Rotom asked.

"What do you think?" Ash replied, pulling out a Poké Ball. "You want me to catch you, right?"

Rowlet replied with an affirmative trill and joyous expression.

"Alright, then here we go, Rowlet! Go, Poké Ball!" Ash said, tossing the ball up. It lightly bumped Rowlet's head and encapsulated the little owl. Ash easily caught the ball, staring expectantly at the blinking button. As expected, with no resistance on the Pokémon's part, it was three shakes and click before the ball went still. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder as the boy spun around before holding the ball up to sky. "I just caught... a Rowlet!"

"Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered, leaping into the air to complete the victory pose, before landing perfectly on Ash's shoulder.

"WHAT?!" RotomDex yelled. "IT'S POSSIBLE TO CATCH A POKÉMON LIKE _THAT_?!"

"Of course, it counts!" Ash replied easily, holding the ball up proudly.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu added.

"Great!" Mallow said. "Though I think Ash has done this before."

"Those of us who've traveled with Ash before call it the 'Ketchum Style'," Shane explained. "Though it's my preferred method too."

"Eh. I prefer to earn the Pokémon I catch after a hard-fought battle. And I can do without all the posing." Sai criticized.

Suddenly, Darkrai emerged from his Master Ball. **"Oh, really? Because I remember something VERY different when we fought Yveltal,"** Darkrai said, picking up a berry the same size as a Poké Ball, tossing it high into the air behind him. **"'And just like that, I caught Yveltal'!"** He declared, taking a spinning step backwards, catching the berry and holding it out in front of him.

"Well, I've decided who I'm replacing with Xerneas..." Sai grumbled in annoyance at the Legendary Pokémon.

The rest of the group burst into hearty laughter. Once they calmed down, Ash decided it was time to get to know his new friend.

"Okay, Rowlet, come out!" Ash said, tossing the ball up to let out the freshly-caught grass owl.

Rowlet was already in flight as it popped out of the sphere, trilling cheerfully before diving into Ash's backpack.

"Nice! I guess you like my backpack, right, Rowlet?" Ash asked as Rotom snapped a picture of the owl snuggling into the bag.

"A Rowlet that likes backpacks...must update data," Rotom stated.

The group began to laugh again, much to Rowlet's confusion.

And so, both Ash and Shane have their first Alola Pokémon. Rowlet, a dim but genuine Pokémon who shows great strength when protecting its friends, and Pikipek, who has already shown great versatility. The sibling bonds of their new Pokémon may just strengthen the already incredible bond between their Trainers as the journey continues!

**_To be continued..._**

* * *

**Sorry about the late chapter. Trust me, you guys aren't the only ones annoyed at my slowness, and for the record, I'm not talking about Sai.**

**That said, on the subject of this fic's co-author, I once again give special thanks to Sai Kunai Blade, and once again, if any of you haven't already checked out his stories, I highly recommend you do so. Also, in case anyone's curious to see us actually _play_ video games instead of just writing about them, we both have YouTube channels, though Sai has over a hundred videos posted for many different games, while I've only got about four vids concerning Banjo-Tooie, so you should probably subscribe to Sai and just look back on my channel every couple of weeks or so. ****For those curious, Sai's channel is Sai Blade (no Kunai for some reason) while my own is TheDamonWolfCub18.**

**Part of my problem, admittedly, is a lack of equipment. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could tell me where to get a decent (but hopefully affordable) capture card for either 3DS, Switch, or both.**

**In the meantime, we both wish you all a good day, and hope you're staying safe in this trying time period.**


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